According to the French cosmetics industry association Febea (lafédération des entreprise de la Beauté), France has long been the world’s largest exporter of cosmetics and personal care products, with most of its exports (40%) going to other European countries in 2024, winning around 10 billion euros.
“Our know-how that cannot be relocated remains a major asset,” a spokesman for Febea said.
“To protect France’s global position requires a coordinated, aggressive and ambitious strategy.”
“There are only losers in the trade war.”
The Industry Association said it was disappointed that the US administration decided to introduce an additional 20% tariff on imports of goods from the European Union.
“The measure will inevitably affect the French cosmetics industry,” he said, emphasizing that the US accounts for 13% of the sector’s exports and is “thus the major trading partner of French beauty companies.”
“To date, the transatlantic relationships in this sector have been based on a balanced framework without mutual tariffs. They are part of a long tradition of commercial cooperation, cross-investment and industrial facilities on both sides of the Atlantic,” the spokesman continued. “In this respect, the US will remain an important market for French cosmetics.”
“There are only losers in the trade war. American consumers are punished, facing lower supply or higher prices, weakening European companies through reduced competitiveness or low margins,” Febea continued.
The Industry Association said that we are “probably at the beginning of a commercial escalation,” but “it is essential to build a unified, gentle, proportional European response rather than responding with one upmanship logic,” adding that we need the “community-wide response” needed from the EU.
“Risks highlighting competitive pressures on other global markets.”
Febea also said that other cosmetic exporters, such as South Korea, Japan and China, are all affected, and “this restructuring risks underscore competitive pressure on other global markets.”
Trade wars are first and foremost economic wars. The competitiveness of the European cosmetics industry and, in particular, the French cosmetics industry is at risk. Our response needs to be “industrial as well as diplomacy, and implemented on the scale of the continent of Europe.”
