EU must remain united in defence of multilateralism
Trade
The European Parliament will this evening hold two key debates on trade - on President Trump’s trade tariffs and the EU’s new anti-dumping legislation, which is due to be voted on tomorrow. The Trump administration is due to make a final decision on tariffs for steel and aluminium from the European Union on 1 June.
Greens/EFA co-president Ska Keller comments on Trump's trade tariffs:
“If Trump continues to show complete disregard for the rules of global trade, then the EU will be well within its rights to defend its jobs and industry. But the EU must maintain its position as a defender of multilateralism and avoid escalating the conflict. Any action by the EU has to be proportionate and targeted. It is vital that EU countries remain united in facing down Trump's aggression and do not seek back door deals on their own products.
“The current situation should be an impetus for the EU to take steps to make its economy less vulnerable to the whims of people like Donald Trump. The EU needs a strong industrial policy to defend its workers and support the move to a low carbon economy. If we want to defeat Trump and other right wing populists, we need to give better answers to the problems of unfair globalisation."
Greens/EFA trade spokesperson Yannick Jadot comments on the new legislation on the protection against dumped and subsidised imports from third countries:
“This is an important first step towards making global trade fairer. Thanks partly to the insistence of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament, the EU is showing the way forward by becoming the first WTO member to include social and environmental standards in their calculations when deciding anti-dumping duties. Following last year’s success on conflict minerals, social and environmental concerns have again been turned into binding criteria in trade legislation.
"Trump’s behaviour is a sign that the current approach to trade and globalisation is no longer fit for purpose. This should be an opportunity to write new trade rules for fair globalisation, with social and environmental standards are at its centre. The new anti-dumping measures are a first step towards making this happen.”
