European Economics Commissioner Pierre Moscovici he’s “cautiously optimistic” that there could be an agreement on the language on trade out of G20 meeting. And he hoped that the G20 communique will show that “how that protectionism is not the solution and we must absolutely avoid that.” He warned that “the first risk is the risk of inward looking policies and protectionism.”
Regarding US requests to omit the term “multilateral” from there statement, Moscovici blasted that “avoiding multilateralism in a multilateral organization makes no sense.” He further added that “a trade war would be stupid. There would be damage on both sides of the Atlantic.” Moscovici also reiterated that EU is prepared for counter-measures to US if it’s not exempted from the steel and aluminum tariffs. Moscovici noted “but we think the best is to avoid a scale up” because “we must absolutely avoid trade wars.”
On the other hand, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin emphasized in an email statement that “The trip to the G-20 will focus on advancing the Trump administration’s global economic agenda to level the playing field for U.S. companies and workers.”
Trump to announce USD 60b tariff against China on Friday, China Premier Li pledges to open market
It’s known that Trump is preparing to impose a package of USD 60b in tariffs against China. It’s reported that the package would apply to over 100 products. These products are believed by Trump to use trade secretes stolen from US companies, or forced to hand over in exchange for market access. The theme appears to be consistent with Section 301 intellectual property theft investigation and actions. But no one knows how relevant is that until there a a published list of products. Trump is planning to announce the action by Friday.
China Premier Li Keqiang said today after a press conference that there is no forced transfer of technology. But he pledged that China will better protect intellectually property. Also, China will further open up the economy, lower import tariffs and allow foreign and domestic companies to compete on equal ground. China commerce ministry said that there is WTO ruling against tariffs directed only at them. And it urged the US to correct the abuse of trade measures. But the MOFCOM didn’t comment directly on the reported USD 60b tariff package.