Washington (AFP)

"Don't take one of the last pleasures I can still afford," begs Gerald Ansel. This American wine lover wants to convince the Trump administration to give up imposing customs tariffs on emblematic products to punish France for its GAFA tax.

The Trump administration recently threatened to overtax "up to 100%" the equivalent of $ 2.4 billion in French products.

Champagne, Roquefort, leather handbags, cosmetics, Limoges porcelain, cast iron casseroles Le Creuset and Staub, could thus pay the price for the discontent of the United States after the introduction in France of a tax on digital giants which strikes in the first place the American "Gafa" (Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon).

The US Trade Representative (USTR) receives written comments from individuals and industry professionals until Monday evening, and will hold a public meeting on Tuesday to consider requests for exemptions.

"Small and medium-sized businesses will be penalized throughout the supply chain in retaliation for taxes on digital service giants", deplores, in its comment to the USTR, the Specialty Food Association (SFA) food professional with more than 3,900 members in the United States.

The organization estimates that around 14,000 specialty food retailers will be penalized by these tariffs, along with more than 20,000 other food retailers.

Ten associations of French wine importers, who have sent a joint letter to the USTR, have estimated job losses in the United States from 11,200 to 78,600 if these threats are carried out.

- Astronomical price increase -

The measure will not come into force until mid-January, after the consultation period.

These additional customs duties, "first, will cause people to lose their jobs, and consumers will no longer have access to the products they like or will have to endure astronomical price increases," says Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, an importer French and Italian wines, in a letter sent to the USTR.

"Despite the importance of the American market for European wine, European producers will not be penalized as much as American consumers. (...) In the end, the losers will be American consumers and businesses", adds the importer .

For their part, the digital giants are careful not to condemn these additional taxes.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association, which includes Facebook, Amazon and Google's parent company, Alphabet, among others, believes that "France's action deserves a consistent and proportionate response from the United States".

"If changes are necessary in the international taxation of the digital economy, this must be carried out as part of a multilateral process at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)", pleads this organization.

To end the controversial tax practices of digital multinationals accused of undercutting their income in France, the French government voted at the end of 2018 a so-called "Gafa" tax which tax these companies up to 3% of turnover in France .

Canada also intends to tax the digital giants but will wait, before taking action, the decision of the OECD, which must report in the summer on the subject.

"The threats of American sanctions are unacceptable. Our priority is to find an international solution to the OECD on digital taxation. If necessary, we are ready to fight back at European level," retorted the French Minister for Finance in mid-December. 'Economy Bruno Le Maire.

If the United States complies with its threats, it would be a second set of customs sanctions affecting France: in the long legal battle over the subsidies granted to Airbus, the Trump administration began in mid-October to apply taxes punitive amounts to 10% on European planes, and 25% on various food products from the European Union, including some French wines.

© 2020 AFP