EU Official Says Trade Talks With U.S. in 'Deep Freeze'
21 March 2017 - 10:06AM
Dow Jones News
By Paul Vieira and David George-Cosh
TORONTO -- The European Union's chief trade official said Monday
the Trump administration is sending "worrying signals" on trade,
arguing that erecting barriers to global commerce threatens to kill
jobs and raise prices for consumers in both developed and emerging
economies.
In remarks in Toronto, Cecilia Malmström said the EU is seeking
to bolster trade ties with partners like Canada, with which the
bloc reached a trade pact last fall.
By contrast, Ms. Malmström said the EU's free trade talks with
the U.S. are in a "deep freeze" as the Trump Administration seeks
bilateral trade deals as opposed to multilateral or regional
ones.
The EU, she said, will continue to seek liberalized trade around
the world even with Britain leaving the union. That move, she said,
will create the need to forge a new trade deal between the EU and
Britain.
"We do not agree with those who think the answer is to raise
barriers," Ms. Malmström said in a speech to students at the
University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs.
"In Europe which has long divided itself by walls and borders,
we know those divisions bring anything but freedom and prosperity,"
Ms. Malmström said. "We know that unplugging from the global grid
is not an option. It would kill jobs, not create them."
Ms. Malmström, on a two-day visit to Canada, spoke days after
the conclusion of a meeting among finance chiefs from the Group of
20 countries. In their closely watched communiqué, the finance
chiefs eschewed any disavowal of protectionism, after objections
from U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
To date, U.S. President Donald Trump has withdrawn the U.S. from
the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, which included 12 Pacific
Rim countries and was championed by his predecessor. He has also
signaled plans to renegotiate the terms of the North American
Free-Trade Agreement.
White House officials have also argued the U.S. faces a growing
economic and potential national security risk from the commercial
behavior of its major trading partners, including China and
Germany.
Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com and David
George-Cosh at david.george-cosh@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 20, 2017 18:51 ET (22:51 GMT)
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