Before she sets foot on an official visit to the U.S., a call for strengthening of the World Trade Organization (WTO) was given by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Calls for defending and expansion of the Geneva-based WTO was given by Merkel while rallying support for free trade at the Hanover Trade Fair while speaking before a delegation of German and Mexican businessmen.
"We know that we must also strengthen the WTO as such alongside bilateral agreements," the chancellor said.
"We need a new multilateral agreement," Merkel added. She warned that the failure to successfully conclude a WTO round of negotiations since the so-called Uruguay round in 1994 was evidence that the existing system for rules-based free trade and related dispute settlement had begun to totter.
The likely issue that is set to come up in Merkel’s meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump is the aspect of growing U.S. protectionism after Merkel arrives in the country on Friday.
The European Union has already threatened to approach the WTO and file a lawsuit if the U.S. does not allow exemption form the tariff on aluminum and steel for the EU after May1 when the temporary exemption given the EU is set to expire.
A demand for creating a swift and mutually-agreeable change in the North American Free Trade agreement (NAFTA) was made by Mexican President Enquire Pena Nieto at Hanover. NAFTA came into existence in 1994 after it was signed by the U.S, Canada and Mexico. Trump has threatened to pull out of the agreement if it was not altered to suit U.S. demands and talks on the same are underway between the three countries.
An agreement on the key parameters of a new bilateral trade pact have in the meanwhile been reached by EU and Mexico.
While saying that the annual trade between Germany and Mexico was over 20 billion euros (24.5 billion U.S. dollars) in 2017, Merkel described Mexico as a reliable investment partner.
In this context, Merkel further added that growth in Mexican exports into Germany has been more than the other way around with 44 per cent and 16 percent respectively.
"This is exactly the right direction needed to gradually achieve equilibrium in the international balance of trade which we too have a strong interest," she said.
The export driven economic growth model of Germany has been repeatedly criticized by Trump, as well as the Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF).
A deficit and a build-up of international liabilities in other countries is the result of permanent surpluses above six percent of gross domestic product (GDP) which in turn endangers economic stability, the IMF has argued.
The development of renewed trade relations – based on the basic agreement, between EU and Mexico was described as "enormously important" for Germany's economy by the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK).
"This is a much-needed signal for more economic cooperation in our times. The agreement shows that transatlantic trade can be developed positively," DIHK international trade export Volker Treier argued
(Source:www.xinhuanet.com)
Calls for defending and expansion of the Geneva-based WTO was given by Merkel while rallying support for free trade at the Hanover Trade Fair while speaking before a delegation of German and Mexican businessmen.
"We know that we must also strengthen the WTO as such alongside bilateral agreements," the chancellor said.
"We need a new multilateral agreement," Merkel added. She warned that the failure to successfully conclude a WTO round of negotiations since the so-called Uruguay round in 1994 was evidence that the existing system for rules-based free trade and related dispute settlement had begun to totter.
The likely issue that is set to come up in Merkel’s meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump is the aspect of growing U.S. protectionism after Merkel arrives in the country on Friday.
The European Union has already threatened to approach the WTO and file a lawsuit if the U.S. does not allow exemption form the tariff on aluminum and steel for the EU after May1 when the temporary exemption given the EU is set to expire.
A demand for creating a swift and mutually-agreeable change in the North American Free Trade agreement (NAFTA) was made by Mexican President Enquire Pena Nieto at Hanover. NAFTA came into existence in 1994 after it was signed by the U.S, Canada and Mexico. Trump has threatened to pull out of the agreement if it was not altered to suit U.S. demands and talks on the same are underway between the three countries.
An agreement on the key parameters of a new bilateral trade pact have in the meanwhile been reached by EU and Mexico.
While saying that the annual trade between Germany and Mexico was over 20 billion euros (24.5 billion U.S. dollars) in 2017, Merkel described Mexico as a reliable investment partner.
In this context, Merkel further added that growth in Mexican exports into Germany has been more than the other way around with 44 per cent and 16 percent respectively.
"This is exactly the right direction needed to gradually achieve equilibrium in the international balance of trade which we too have a strong interest," she said.
The export driven economic growth model of Germany has been repeatedly criticized by Trump, as well as the Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF).
A deficit and a build-up of international liabilities in other countries is the result of permanent surpluses above six percent of gross domestic product (GDP) which in turn endangers economic stability, the IMF has argued.
The development of renewed trade relations – based on the basic agreement, between EU and Mexico was described as "enormously important" for Germany's economy by the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK).
"This is a much-needed signal for more economic cooperation in our times. The agreement shows that transatlantic trade can be developed positively," DIHK international trade export Volker Treier argued
(Source:www.xinhuanet.com)
