President Donald Trump on Monday floated the idea of slapping a 200% tariff on French wines and champagnes when asked about French President Emmanuel Macron declining to join the Board of Peace initiative focused on working toward and end to the Gaza conflict in the Middle East.
“What I’ll do is if they feel… hostile, I’ll put a 200% tariff on his wines and champagnes. And he’ll join. But, he doesn’t have to join,” Trump said on Monday.
Macron’s office said on Monday that the French president had rejected Trump’s invitation to join the body, according to Politico, which reported that the statement indicated the panel’s charter “goes beyond the framework of Gaza and raises serious questions, in particular with respect to the principles and structure of the United Nations, which cannot be called into question.”
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Other nations, including Israel, have accepted the chance to join the board.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that he accepts the invitation of U.S. President Donald Trump and will become a member of the Board of Peace, which is to be comprised of world leaders,” the prime minister’s office has noted.
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Trump has indicated that he invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to join.
Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., has decried Trump’s move, declaring in part of a post on X that “extending an invitation to Putin to join the Board of Peace undermines the mission to eradicate Hamas, secure peace, and promote reconciliation amongst nations.”
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“Trump’s refusal to hold Putin accountable is not only disgraceful, but also dangerous. His continued efforts to appease and partner with this craven dictator is a betrayal of freedom, democracy, and international law,” Hoyer asserted.
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