French president calls return to trade wars, tariffs 'aberration'

ISTANBUL

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday called the return to trade wars and tariffs an "aberration" during a major development conference in Seville.

"Bringing back trade wars and tariffs at this moment in the life of the planet is an aberration, especially when I see the tariffs being imposed on countries that are just beginning their economic takeoff," Macron said during his speech at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development held in Seville, the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville.

He urged everyone to "rethink" and "support" the World Trade Organization while "realigning" it with their goals to combat inequality and climate change.

"We need to bring back freedom and fairness to international trade—much more than barriers and tariffs devised by the strongest, which are often used as tools of blackmail rather than instruments of rebalancing," he noted.

Macron stressed that the tariff war is "bad for everyone" and "undermines" the ability to finance development.

"Withdrawal of American funding obviously also weighs heavily on the situation," he further added.

Pointing to the increase in public finance pressures in middle-income and wealthier countries, Macron said that this increase places "greater constraints" on their ability to finance international solidarity.