Red lines
Resuming the free-trade talks with Washington would be a red line for France and put Paris and Berlin at odds. Still, Merz’s more critical tone toward China, which contrasts with the fealty shown by Scholz and longtime CDU Chancellor Angela Merkel, might bring Berlin closer to the position defended by Paris and the European Commission.
A closer relationship between the two countries might also help ease their major differences on how to deal with China. France has advocated for a tougher approach, which includes “Buy European” measures in public tenders, but also tariffs on subsidized Chinese imports. Germany, which has closer trade ties with China, has been more cautious, fearing a trade war with Beijing.
The divergence between the two peaked when Brussels imposed tariffs on imports of Chinese electric vehicles last fall, delighting France but disappointing Germany, which voted against the measure on concerns that its carmakers would suffer Chinese retaliation.
Saint-Martin, who hails from President Emmanuel Macron’s liberal party, has already worked on trade as head of Business France, the country’s organization in charge of helping French companies to export and attracting foreign investors.
Until a few weeks ago, he was a junior minister in charge of an even harder task: putting together a budget for 2025 that would reduce France’s massive deficit while getting the nod from a fragmented parliament — the budget was not adopted as Michel Barnier’s government collapsed last month precisely over that file.
His comments come amid a wide Franco-German divergence on Europe’s economic agenda and especially on the bloc’s two main trade files: the trade agreement with South American countries of the Mercosur bloc struck in December, and mounting trade tensions with China.
