Tom Fairless

But this time, interest rates are much higher.

Government debt is much higher.

And it's going to be much more tricky to afford those kind of measures, which is why they are putting more emphasis on these behavioral changes.

In France, they've done hundreds of inspections of gas stations to check that they're not raising prices too much.

But if the crisis continues, then presumably they will have to do more in terms of supporting citizens and paying out subsidies.

Thanks so much for having me, Julie.

The Supreme Court ruling and then this refund ruling both create a certain idea that there's a limit to how the administration can use these tariffs at will to penalize countries from one day to the next.

So firstly, it's a relief and there's enormous interest in claiming back these refunds.

German manufacturers were immediately facing questions from customers about how to get these, how quickly they would get these refunds.

But there's also continued uncertainty around how to claim it back, who gets the money, how much it will cost, how long it will take.

There's lots of new layers of uncertainty.

Businesses tell me they could live with a 10% tariff, even a 20% tariff if they knew what it was.

But it's the not knowing, the not being able to plan that is really poison for investment and for just making decisions on future markets and future investments.

Yes, that's right.

The French President Emmanuel Macron recently said that the trade balance with China is unsustainable.

And he raised the prospect of tariffs, of European tariffs against Chinese products.

The Germans have been more cautious.

And I think there is a kind of groundswell of concern that's coming, especially from businesses, from German businesses that are being hit.

directly.

The core of German industry is being threatened now by China because China has moved up the value chain.