Taylor-Montebourg correspondence a ‘private matter’ – US Department of State
The verbal fisticuffs between Titan International’s Maurice Taylor and France’s minister of industrial renewal Arnaud Montebourg, first leaked to the world by financial newspaper Les Échos on 19 February, has been played down by the US Department of State. During the department’s daily press briefing on 21 February, Taylor’s disparaging comments regarding the French work ethic were broached and spokesperson Victoria Nuland asked whether the US administration considers investing in France any more (or less) difficult than investing in other European countries.
Nuland replied by describing Taylor’s letter to Montebourg as “concerns expressed by an individual American businessman” regarding a business deal. “That sounds like a private matter, not a government-to-government matter,” she commented. Further discourse on the matter took on a neutral tone as Nuland distanced the US government from the Titan chairman and CEO’s remarks.
“You know where we are in our relationship with France, our oldest ally, that we have deep and broad relations, including many successful American businesses operating in France, many successful French businesses operating in the United States,” she shared. “As allies we continually strive to keep our markets open to each other and to have both of our populations benefit from strong, robust trade both ways.”
Nuland was then asked – accompanied by laughter from attending press representatives – whether she agreed with the implication that French workers were lazy. Her answer, or non-answer, was simply “I have a personal soft spot for France. I think I’ll leave it there.”
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