Paris (AFP)

Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump have agreed to extend discussions on the taxation of digital giants until the end of the year, for the time being averting the threat of American sanctions on French products, said on Monday French diplomatic source.

The French and American presidents "agreed to give a chance" to the negotiations in order to find a solution in an international framework and to avoid "a trade war which would be beneficial for nobody", underlined this source.

In an early evening tweet, Macron said his discussion with the White House tenant on Sunday was "excellent". "We will work together on a good agreement to avoid any escalation of customs tariffs," he added.

Echoing this, the White House stressed that the two men were convinced that it is "important to carry out successful negotiations" on this dossier.

On January 7, the United States and France had given themselves fifteen days to reach an agreement and allow the continuation of work at the OECD on the establishment of international taxation of digital giants, including GAFA as Google, Amazon or Facebook.

French Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire, who has been carrying out intense negotiations for several weeks, is due to meet his American counterpart Steven Mnuchin in Davos on Wednesday to discuss the details of the continuation of the discussions within the framework of the Organization for Cooperation. and economic development (OECD).

"France is continuing its objective of fair taxation of digital companies and of finding a compromise within the framework of the OECD," the French presidency recalled on Monday. Paris said it would drop its tax if an international agreement was reached.

France has decided to impose a tax on January 1, 2019 on large digital companies up to 3% of their turnover, pending the adoption of international taxation.

A year ago, the United States had relaunched negotiations on digital taxation within the OECD, which they had blocked for several years, but in December they laid down conditions rejected by France.

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

© 2020 AFP