Agnes Pannier-Runacher speaks during the questions to the government session at the National Assembly in Paris. File photo/Reuters

France will be “pugnacious” over the latest US tariff threats on French products and will not go back on its digital tax plan, junior economy minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said on Tuesday.

On Monday, the US government said it may slap punitive duties of up to 100% on $2.4 billion of imports from France of champagne, handbags, cheese and other products, after concluding that France's new digital services tax would harm US tech companies.

“It is very clear that we do not need to go back on this, with regards to a topic that economically speaking makes sense,” Pannier-Runacher told Sud Radio, referring to the digital tax.

“We need to be pugnacious on the subject,” she added.

Reuters