Bernard Arnault, the richest man in Europe and the CEO of Luxury Empire LVMH, is furious with the way the European Union handled its commercial ties with the United States.
Made it clear enough at the annual shareholders meeting of LVMH At the end of last weekwarning that the company behind Christian Dior and Tag Heuer could near its operations to the United States in case of a commercial war.
“It will be Brussels if this happens,” said Arnault, suggesting that “European countries should try to administer these negotiations and not leave them to bureaucrats.”
The 76 -year -old LVMH chief criticized the EU for spending too much time elaborating regulations that harm companies more than they helped them.
Arnault expressed his frustration due to the volatility of trade due to US tariffs, which were initially more 20% rising before President Donald Trump down to 10% earlier this month.
Even if the worst case may have been temporarily avoided, the EU is under pressure to reach an agreement with the United States sooner rather than later. The block proposed a zero rate for zero that would mean that there are no levies on transatlantic trade.
While those may not be the final terms, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, proudly promoted that “countries are aligned to work with us”, in the comments informed by Political Tuesday.
“In the middle of chaos, Europe remains firm, based on values, ready to shape what comes next,” he said.
The main diplomat said that the block would not shudder in responding to US tariffs if negotiations break. Von der read even warned of A series of countermeasures that the EU could resort, including digital services rates. Finally, he said that the relationship between the United States and Europe will never be the same.
But things seem to have cooled since the rates were announced for the first time.
Last week, Trump met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, after which Said“There will be a commercial agreement, 100%.” The US president, who was praised by Meloni despite Belittling Europe On several occasions, he emphasized that the agreement would be fair.
Companies, large and small, are dry for news on the commercial front after weeks of uncertainty. A commercial agreement would mean that the United States and Europe, which are the main commercial partners, will finally see in eyes.
This is especially important for European companies, since many of their largest companies have a presence in the United States for luxury giants such as LVMH in particular, US buyers represent a critical mass and the company expects this rich group to compensate for softness in Chinese demand that has aggravated a deceleration in luxury sales.
The consequences of Trump’s plan left the stock market markets devoid. LVMH, who does 25% Of its income from the USA, has seen that its shares decrease more than 25% since the beginning of the year. The company has also lost its crown as the most valuable luxury company for its French rival partner, Hermès. Arnault’s personal wealth has suffered a loss of $ 23.4 billion during this period, according to The Bloomberg billionaire index. It is still the richest person in Europe.
Arnault has hinted to expand production in United States beforeEspecially because it has a close relationship with Trump that dates back to several decades.
While LVMH argues that he has not yet seen the impact of tariffs on his business, it could only be a matter of time before that happens, unless a commercial agreement takes time to avoid that.
This story was originally presented in Fortune.com
