French President Emmanuel Macron has called for French businesses to cease investing in the United States, but Bernard Arnault, the boss of the luxury goods mega company, LVMH, has rejected the idea.
LVMH has a long history in the United States, and owns the crown jewel of American luxury companies, Tiffany & Co. Arnault is also a friend and supporter of President Donald Trump. According to Politico Europe, Arnault told French senators that he rejected any plan to limit U.S. investment. Giorgio Leali reports:
Billionaire Bernard Arnault has no intention of listening to French President Emmanuel Macron’s call to suspend investments in the United States.
“I think it’s very bad for the state to meddle in the management of private companies. It usually leads to disaster,” the LVMH boss told French senators during a hearing Wednesday evening. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to take advice like that, wherever it comes from.”
Arnault’s comments came in response to a question on Macron’s call to freeze investment in the U.S. shortly after President Donald Trump hit the European Union with 20 percent across-the-board tariffs. Trump quickly suspended the duties for 90 days to give the two sides time to negotiate.
Arnault stressed that his companies had been operating in the United States since the 1980s and that there was no reason to stop its overseas expansion as it is proving to be “an advantage” in the face of Trump’s tariffs.
Though Arnault and Macron have enjoyed a close relationship during the French president’s tenure, the luxury tycoon is also an unabashed fan of the U.S. leader. After attending his inauguration in January, Arnault has repeatedly praised Trump’s economic policies and threatened to move production across the Atlantic.
Your Survival Guy has written about my adventures in Paris, and the city’s luxury goods economy.
- Your Survival Guy in Paris: l’Ami Louis, LVMH
- World’s Richest Woman, LVMH, Hermès and More
- Going to Paris?
- Record Breaking Luxury at Hermès
- SPECIAL REPORT: Your Survival Guy in Paris
- Have We Seen Peak Louis Vuitton?
- Your Survival Guy in Paris: The Magic of Christian Dior
- Your Survival Guy in Paris: Luxury and You
- Paris, China, the Middle Class and the Luxury Olympics
- Your Survival Guy’s New Shoes in Paris: Berluti
But America also has a history of luxury, and the world’s largest economy is simply a market that cannot be taken for granted by luxury titans like Arnault and LVMH. The company’s products can be seen everywhere on America’s city streets.
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