Trump puts fighting words in Macron’s mouth

WASHINGTON >> President Donald Trump put fighting words in his French counterpart’s mouth this past week and assailed the special counsel’s Russia investigation with a familiar and false characterization of the man leading it.

Also familiar, on a week honoring the sacrifice of America’s warriors, was his inaccurate assertion that veterans, thanks to him, no longer face long waits for medical care.

A look at the president’s recent rhetoric and the reality: that, though in theory outside the NATO umbrella.

Macron said in a radio interview before Trump’s arrival in France that Europe should be able to defend itself more than it now can, without only relying on the United States.

At another point in the interview, Macron discussed hacking and other cyberthreats and asserted that on that front, France must protect itself from China, Russia and even the United States. His concern about U.S. hackers had nothing to do with military threats or forces.

Trump misrepresented Macron’s position on the matter before they met and again after they discussed it. very small Tariffs. Not fair, must change!” — tweet on Tuesday.

THE FACTS: Yes, U.S. wine is desired in France.

Trump, who’s been in the wine business, is wrong about France applying tariffs. The European Union does.

He’s right about a disparity in wine duties.

Tariffs vary by alcohol content and other factors. A bottle of white American wine with 13 percent alcohol content imported into the EU carries a customs duty of 10 euro cents (just over 11 U.S. cents). A bottle of white wine from the EU exported to the United States has a customs duty of 5 U.S. cents.

The gap in duties is narrower for red wine with an alcohol content of 14.5 percent.

Bulk wines are another story. The U.S. tariff is double the EU one, a break for American producers because bulk wine represents 25 percent of the volume of U.S. wine coming into the EU, according to the French wine exporter federation.

The value of wine imported by France has jumped 200 percent over a decade. Meantime Americans are the top consumers of French wine exports.