ZCZC
BCN-08
EU-US-JAPAN-CHINA-TRADE-TARIFFS
US, EU, Japan jointly denounce unfair trade
UNITED NATIONS, United States, Sept 26, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Washington, Tokyo
and Brussels said Tuesday they were making common cause against unfair trade,
jointly denouncing industrial practices long pinned on China but refraining
from naming that country explicitly.
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Japanese Economy Minister
Hiroshige Seko and European Union Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem
“reiterated their concern with and confirmed their shared objective to
address non-market-oriented policies.”
In a statement issued on the sidelines of the United Nations General
Assembly in New York, they said unnamed “third countries” had engaged in
“severe overcapacity,” while creating unfair competitive conditions,
threatening technological development and ultimately undermining global
trade.
“The ministers recalled that market-oriented conditions are fundamental to
a fair, mutually advantageous global trading system and that their citizens
and businesses operate under market-oriented conditions,” said the statement.
“The ministers found such practices to be deplorable,” it added, noting
the three economies were considering “possible measures” that could be
undertaken.
Washington has cited precisely these grievances in justifying its
escalating trade war with Beijing, which it also accuses of seeking global
industrial predominance through theft, coercion, subsidies and state-
sponsored acquisitions.
On Monday, the United States imposed tariffs on another $200 billion in
Chinese imports, meaning about half of everything Americans buy from China is
now subjected to import levies.
BSS/AFP/HR/0930