European Union finance ministers expressed concern on Tuesday (March 21) over the future of free trade after what one of them called a surreal meeting of finance chiefs of the world’s 20 biggest economies at the weekend.
Breaking a decadelong tradition of endorsing open trade, G20 finance ministers and central bankers made only a token reference to trade in their communiqué, reluctantly accepting an increasingly protectionist United States after a two-day meeting in Germany failed to yield a compromise.
Belgian Finance Minister Johan Van Overtveldt, on his arrival at a regular meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels, said the G-20 confirmed “a worrying trend” toward protectionism.
“There are certainly important countries in the world today where we see, indeed, a decrease in support for international open trading system,” said Van Overtveldt. “That is a worrying trend. We should do everything we can to stop it and reverse it back in the good direction.”
Luxembourg’s Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna raised similar concerns, while European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis reiterated EU’s commitment to free trade.
“We’re all worried in Europe that open trade and globalization with its good sides are being put into question,” said Gramegna. “We’ve had decades where there was a consensus that open trade was good for all the countries.”
“As Mister Abe (Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe) is here, it’s clear that we in the EU don’t want to build walls, we want to build bridges, that’s human bridges, political bridges, and that’s also trade bridges,” said Dombrovskis.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen represented the United States at the G-20.
President Donald Trump has vowed to put “America first” and Mnuchin defended this stance at the conference.
“We do have a new administration and we do have a different view on trade, but again I want to emphasize, that view is making sure that trade works for the American workers and works for our counterparties, that it is a good deal for both,” said Mnuchin.
“We believe in free trade: we are one of the largest markets in the world, we are one of the largest trading partners in the world, trade has been good for us and good for other people. Having said that, we want to re-examine certain agreements,” he said.
(REUTERS)
