News / Macron calls for ‘suspension’ – CMA CGM's $20bn US investment in doubt

Mr R Saade et Mr Macron meet at CMA CGM's HQ in September 2021

CMA CGM’s much-heralded $20bn investment in the US could be in doubt after French president Emmanuel Macron called for a suspension of European investments in the US, following yesterday’s tariff announcement. 

Speaking to a group French business leaders and politicians, he said: “Future investments, investments announced in the last weeks, should be suspended for a time for as long as the situation with the United States is not clarified. 

“What would be the message if big European actors invest billions of euros in the US economy at the very moment they are hitting us?” he asked. 

French group CMA announced last month, as negotiations over tariffs were in play, that it was investing $20bn in the US, in words clearly framed to appease the White House and soften tariffs talks. 

It pledged “a $20 billion investment to contribute to US maritime economy and support the transformation of America’s domestic supply chain over the next four years.  

“This announcement builds on CMA CGM Group’s 35-year presence in the US. Today, the Group operates in 40 states and employs 15,000 Americans. As a leading partner in US trade, CMA CGM transports over 5 million shipping containers to and from the country each year.” 

President Macron, who has close ties with CMA CGM Group’s CEO Rodolphe Saadé, added that the tariffs were “brutal and unfounded” and would make Americans “weaker and poorer”. 

He urged Europe to be united in its response. 

Questions are already being asked in Europe over whether it may invoke its anti-coercion law, which allows it to impose restrictions via investment and trade, if a foreign government is thought to be weaponising trade. 

The EU could, reportedly, revoke banking licences, cancel a country’s IP rights and block access to government contracts. The law has never been used, and requires a weighted majority of EU member states to agree.