“I’ll put a 200% tariff on his wines and champagnes, and he’ll join, but he doesn’t have to join,” Trump said of pressuring French President Emmanuel Macron to join his Board of Peace to oversee Gaza.
President Trump wants swift movement to Gaza peace plan phase 2
President Donald Trump told reporters Gaza reconstruction will start soon but Hamas must disarm first.
President Donald Trump said he would consider steep tariffs on French wines and champagnes if the country’s president doesn’t join a new Board of Peace being established to oversee war-torn Gaza.
Trump unveiled his plan for the Board of Peace in September as part of a 20-point peace plan for Gaza. He began sending out invites to world leaders Jan. 16 to sit on the board. The invitations say that the board will “embark on a bold new approach to resolving global conflict,” according to PBS. The New York Times reported the Board’s charter was included with the invites and it has language indicating the organization could get involved in other conflicts beyond Gaza.
A broader mandate for the Board of Peace could put it in conflict with the United Nations, which Trump has repeatedly criticized. An individual close to French President Emmanuel Macron told Reuters he would decline his invitation to join the Board.
Asked about Macron’s position by a reporter on Jan. 19, Trump said: “Did he say that? Well, nobody wants him because he will be out of office very soon.”
“I’ll put a 200% tariff on his wines and champagnes, and he’ll join, but he doesn’t have to join,” Trump added.
Trump’s threat comes amid questions about which countries will participate in the new Board. Multiple western diplomats told Reuters the Board appears to undermine the United Nations. Macron’s reluctance to be involved could be a sign of broader trepidation.
The invitation to join the Board states that countries must pay $1 billion for a permanent seat, or else are offered a three-year term. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is close with Trump, quickly accepted the invitation in a social media post. Vietnam’s Communist Party chief To Lam also accepted.
Trump said Jan. 19 that Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who invaded Ukraine, is among those invited to join the peace board.
Trump’s efforts to launch to Board of Peace come as his administration announced it is moving into the next phase of it’s Gaza peace plan to end the war between Israel and Hamas, and amid heightened tensions with European leaders of the president’s push to acquire Greenland.
Trump in a Jan. 17 social media post said he is slapping tariffs on eight European countries “until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland.” The president said Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland will face a 10% tariff on all goods starting Feb. 1 and it will increase to 25% on June 1.
Trump complained in a on a Jan 18 text message to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre about not winning the Nobel Peace Prize, saying “I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace” and asserting he wants “Complete and Total Control of Greenland.”
This story has been updated to add new information.
Contributing: Reuters, Josh Meyer, Eduardo Cuevas, Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy
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