Trump tariffs: French cosmetics sector braced for more than 10,000 job losses

Customs barriers introduced by Donald Trump since January could, as soon as 2026, cost the French beauty and cosmetics sector €620 million, with the Fédération des Entreprises de la Beauté forecasting a 21% fall in exports to the United States.

FEBEA had already expressed its concerns over the summer. With the help of the consulting firm Astérès, the representative body has now put numbers on the potential impact of the Trump tariffs. The federation estimates that this trade shock could result in the loss of 2,700 direct jobs at exporting cosmetics companies, and a further 8,200 indirect jobs across packaging, transport and communications.

While French cosmetics companies were exempt from duties in 2024, they now face a 15% tariff, plus an additional 50% levy on the metal components of packaging. The dollar’s depreciation further compounds the economic impact of these measures.

“Faced with this shock, we cannot remain mere bystanders,” said Emmanuel Guichard, the federation’s general delegate. “FEBEA launched a Beauty Industry Package this summer, a European emergency action plan designed to protect the competitiveness and future of our industry. French cosmetics is a driver of innovation, exports and employment. We are asking our European and French policymakers to give us the means to maintain our global leadership, without needlessly complicating our regulatory framework.”

In 2024, the French cosmetics sector posted the second-largest trade surplus with the United States, at €2.4 billion. The 350 companies in the French industry, which generate €35.6 billion in turnover and support 300,000 jobs, exported €2.9 billion worth of products to the United States that year.