Paris – Paris (AP) – Bernard ArnaultPresident and CEO of the French luxury conglomerate LVMH, requested a free trade zone between the European Union and the United States on Thursday and said that unresolved commercial tensions could seriously damage European industries.
Your comments, following the Tariffs announced by President Donald TrumpIt seemed echoing a similar call from ELON ALMIZCLE On April 5 for a zero Tariff area between the United States and the EU. The EU has pressed for a long time for a “zero for zero” commercial agreement, with both parties eliminating tariffs, but Trump has rejected the offer.
Speaking at the Annual Shareholders meeting of LVMH, Arnault said that European leaders should negotiate “intelligently” with the administration of the United States and that national governments should assume a more prominent role instead of leaving negotiations only in the hands of Brussels, the center of the “Bureaucratic power” of the EU. ”
The LVMH of France has been the world for decades dominant luxury group – Known for products like Moët AND Champagne Champagne, Hennessy Cognac, Louis Vuitton Handbags and Dior perfumes, but this week he lost his title as the world’s largest luxury company to rival Hermès.
“Europe is not directed by political power, but by a bureaucratic power that spends its time issuing regulations that unfortunately impose on all member states and that penalize our commercial sectors,” said the 76 -year -old CEO.
The European Commission, the EU Executive Branch, negotiates trade agreements on behalf of the 27 Member States. The block is the largest commercial entity in the world.
LVMH’s shares fell 7.8% earlier this week, after an unexpected fall in the first quarter sales.
Arnault said the company can be forced to expand the operations of the United States. “It would be forced to increase our US production to avoid tariffs if Europe did not negotiate with intelligence,” he said.
In 2019, LVMH changed part of its production to the United States by opening a Louis Vuitton workshop in Alvarado, Texas, during Trump’s first mandate. Trump and Arnault toured the facilities together, promoting it as a symbol of the Renaissance of American manufacturing.
But on Thursday, Arnault admitted that the Texas site has had a lower performance so far. According to the documents presented at the meeting, the United States represents 25% of the total LVMH sales.
Arnault also criticized the corporate tax increases proposed by France, calling them a “tax on ‘made in France’ and warned that they could boost companies to relocate abroad.
He praised the American model, citing lower taxes and industrial investment backed by the State. “When you return to France after spending a few days in the United States, it is a slightly cold shower,” he said.
Outside the conference room of the Louvre Museum, where the meeting took place, dozens of protesters demanded higher taxes on the rich, carrying a sign of “taxes to the rich” and a large puppet of Arnault represented as a thief, a rope around her chest and hands tied to the back.
“A 2% tax on the richness of France’s ultra rich could generate up to 25 billion euros a year,” said Fanny Petitbon, spokesman for group 350.org. “That would be enough to invest in public services and accelerate an energy transition that benefits everyone.”
