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Australia PM hits out at trade protectionism at APEC
PORT MORESBY, Nov 17, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Trade wars benefit no one and must
be solved by negotiation rather than tit-for-tat tariffs, Australia’s prime
minister said Saturday ahead of an APEC summit likely to be dominated by US-
China trade tensions.
The world is facing a “rising tide of trade protectionism” and financial
market volatility, Scott Morrison warned in a speech to business leaders
ahead of the two-day summit of Asia-Pacific leaders.
“The solution is not throwing up protectionist barriers,” he said.
“Tit-for-tat protectionism and threats of trade wars are in no one’s
interest economically and undermine the authority of the global and regional
trade rules that benefit us all.”
APEC members the US and China have become embroiled in a trade war which
experts warn could be catastrophic for the global economy, with the world’s
top two powers going head to head.
The pair have imposed tariffs worth billions of dollars of each other’s
goods and there is little sign of an immediate easing in tensions, with both
sides threatening to step up action if necessary.
“The solution to perceived unfair trade practices is more likely to be
found around a negotiation table than it is in building a tariff war,” urged
Morrison.
Australia would “continue to advocate for trade disputes to be resolved by
negotiation and within WTO rules.”
He acknowledged that the World Trade Organization “was not perfect” and
pledged to work with “like-minded countries to improve it.”
Reform of the WTO is a topic that is likely to sow division at the summit.
Foreign ministers meeting ahead of the talks were unable to publish a
joint statement, apparently due to difference over language on WTO reform.
BSS/AFP/HR/0950