Trump warns France in exclusive interview with The Post: Kill tech tax or face 100% wine tariffs

Trump threatened to hit French wine and champagne with 100% tariffs unless France eliminates its digital services tax on major U.S. tech firms, reviving a trade fight that has shadowed U.S.-France relations for years and is now flaring again just before the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains.

The warning came in an exclusive interview with the New York Post published Monday, June 15, 2026. Later reporting by The Times corroborated the core threat, including Trump’s link between the French tax and a possible tariff response on one of France’s most visible export categories.

What Trump said

Trump said he had directly warned Emmanuel Macron to remove the tax on American tech companies. According to the reporting, he tied that demand to a 100% tariff on French wines and champagne entering the U.S. if France refused to budge.

The threatened tariffs would not be symbolic. French wine and champagne exporters are among the sectors that would be exposed if the warning were turned into policy, and the dispute could quickly spill beyond a single tax into a broader trade confrontation.

The Post account described the exchange as part of Trump’s renewed pressure campaign over France’s digital services tax. The issue has long been a point of friction between Washington and Paris because it targets large digital companies, including Alphabet, Apple, Amazon and Meta.

Macron’s response

Macron responded on TF1 by rejecting the idea that tariff threats should dictate French tax policy. He said tariffs do not do anyone any good, especially between G7 countries, and made clear he would not give in.

That public refusal matters because it turns the dispute from a private warning into an open political standoff. France is signaling that it sees the tax as a lawful domestic measure, not something to be traded away under pressure.

The reporting also says the tax has been in place since 2019 and is set at 3% of revenue from certain large digital companies. A French Constitutional Council ruling later upheld the levy, which has kept the policy in force despite repeated U.S. objections.

Why this fight matters now

The timing increases the stakes. The dispute is unfolding just ahead of the G7 summit, where Trump and Macron are expected to be in the same diplomatic orbit and where a tariff fight would add strain to already sensitive transatlantic talks.

That backdrop gives the threat outsized significance. A dispute that begins with a tax on digital firms can quickly touch trade, diplomacy and summit politics if it moves from rhetoric to formal action.

The possible economic impact is also concentrated. French wine and champagne are among France’s best-known exports to the U.S., so even the threat of 100% tariffs would be felt far beyond the negotiating table.

What is clear, and what is not

What is clear from the current reporting is that Trump has revived tariff pressure over the digital services tax, and Macron has publicly refused to yield. The story is corroborated by separate coverage and fits a longer pattern of U.S.-France friction over digital taxation.

What is not yet clear is whether Trump’s warning becomes an official tariff move or remains leverage. It is also unclear whether France or the European Union will respond with concessions, countermeasures or a broader political pushback.

Another open question is scale: the reporting identifies the sectors at risk, but not how much of the French wine and champagne trade would ultimately be covered if tariffs were imposed.

What to watch next

The immediate test is whether the White House turns the threat into formal trade action. A second question is whether French officials, or the EU, respond beyond Macron’s televised rejection.

The dispute will also be worth watching at the G7 summit, where the same issue could shape the tone of U.S.-France diplomacy. For now, the fight is still a threat, but it is a credible one with real commercial stakes.

Trump’s warning gives new life to a long-running argument over who should bear the cost of taxing digital platforms. Macron’s response suggests France is prepared to hold the line, even with tariff pressure hanging over its exports.