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.”
