French President Macron is invoking the EU’s most powerful trade weapon against Donald Trump’s threats
The EU never had to use it before.
The world thought trade wars between the United States and its allies were relics of the past. However, Trump then threw another tantrum about Denmark not selling him Greenland and announced tariffs on European countries. Macron’s response? Anti-coercion Instrument.
On Jan. 17, Trump announced a 10% tariff on imports from eight European countries. This includes Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and Finland. He also threatened to raise it to 25% by June, unless Denmark agrees to sell the U.S. “Complete and Total” control of Greenland. But European leaders swiftly rejected the gambit.
“Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral,” the countries warned in a statement. “We will continue to stand united and coordinated in our response,” they added (via Le Monde). But French President Emmanuel Macron isn’t playing the usual game. In response to Trump’s tariff threats, Macron is planning to push the EU to activate the European Union’s anti-coercion instrument.
Macron “will be in contact all day with his European counterparts and will ask, in the name of France, for the activation of the Anti-Coercion Instrument,” his team said on Jan. 18 (via Politico). Macron himself took to his X a day before, and made his stand clear in a long post:
No intimidation or threat will influence us—neither in Ukraine, nor in Greenland, nor anywhere else in the world when we are confronted with such situations. Tariff threats are unacceptable and have no place in this context. Europeans will respond in a united and coordinated manner should they be confirmed. We will ensure that European sovereignty is upheld.
What is the Anti-Coercion Instrument?
The Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI) is a regulation adopted by the EU in 2023 to protect itself and member states from economic pressure by non-EU powers. It is informally known as the trade “bazooka” because of its potential scope and severity.
Under the ACI, the EU investigates whether a third country’s actions constitute economic coercion. It basically translates to using trade or investment measures to influence the EU’s policy choices. If coercion is confirmed, the EU Council can adopt countermeasures, bypassing the veto of any single member state.
The tool is designed to be proportionate and lifted once the coercive action ends. However, no EU anti-coercion measure has ever been implemented to date. Its potential first use against the US is thus serious. The said countermeasures can go far beyond simple tariffs. It can potentially target American companies’ access to the EU market or key services sectors.
Because the EU’s single market includes roughly 500 million consumers, any restriction would send shockwaves through global supply chains. Users on X understood the stakes immediately.
This feels like entering a trade war
“If the EU pulls this trigger, we’re entering uncharted trade-war territory,” one user on X summed up the consequences. Another put the gravity of the situation into words, writing, “Macron isn’t playing around. Using this for the first time could shake up EU-US trade like never before.” Others fully supported the prospect, writing, “Time to give Trump his own medicine.”
But most agreed that the instrument would shatter international relations. As one user pointed out, “This is how trade wars turn into long-term fractures between allies.” And it’s all because “Trump’s throwing another toddler tantrum.” He’s treating Denmark’s resistance against his dreams of acquiring Greenland like “a failed casino deal,” as one user said.
It’s not a joke that economic retaliation tools meant for coercion are being pointed at a democratic partner. It shows how deeply Trump has sunken the US image and position in the global political sphere. And once this bazooka is fired, there’s no easy path back to the status quo.
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