The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that tariffs by powerful nations often act as "blackmail" rather than a trade rebalancing tool. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe reports that he made this remark at the International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville, Spain, amid the EU's trade deal negotiations with the U.S. ahead of a July 9 deadline, though he did not mention the U.S. or President Donald Trump specifically. He said, "We need to restore freedom and equity to international trade, much more than barriers and tariffs, which are devised by the strongest, and which are often used as instruments of blackmail, not at all as instruments of rebalancing." He also urged support of the World Trade Organization to bring it in line with goals to fight inequality and climate change. "Bringing back a trade war and tariffs at this moment in the life of the planet is an aberration, especially when I see the tariffs that are being imposed on countries that are just beginning their economic takeoff." In April, Mr. Trump announced global tariffs on imports into the U.S. ranging from 10 per cent to 50 per cent, but later temporarily reduced them for 90 days.