Bottles of French wine are displayed for sale in a liquor store on Oct. 3, 2019 in Los Angeles."The USTR is focused on countering the growing protectionism of EU (European Union) member states, which unfairly targets U.S. companies, whether through digital services taxes or other efforts that target leading U.S. digital services companies," the statement added.
The new proposed tariffs on French goods are currently open for public comment, and a committee will hold a public hearing on Jan. 7. The USTR "expects to proceed expeditiously thereafter," according to a statement.
Meanwhile, France's Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire called the new U.S. tariff threat "simply unacceptable," according to the Associated Press. "It’s not the behavior we expect from the United States toward one of its main allies,” he added.
Le Maire defended the digital tax as a way of forcing tech companies to pay their fair share of taxes instead of using countries as tax havens, the Associated Press reported.
The French Association of Wine and Spirit Exporters called on "urgent action" by their government in response to the U.S. tariff threats in a tweet Tuesday.