China says trade war 'has not made America great again'

Yahoo – AFP, Poornima Weerasekara, with Elizabeth Law in Singapore, June 2, 2019

Beijing's broadside is the latest act in a bruising conflict between the world's top two
economies that has spooked markets and sparked fears about the global economy
(AFP Photo/Mark RALSTON)

Beijing (AFP) - Washington's escalating trade war with Beijing has not "made America great again" and has instead damaged the American economy, China said Sunday, warning that while it wants resolution through talks there will be no compromise on core principles.

Beijing's broadside is the latest act in a bruising conflict between the world's top two economies that has spooked markets and sparked fears about the global economy.

With trade talks stalled, the dispute has intensified in recent weeks with US President Donald Trump imposing fresh tariffs on imports from China and moving to blacklist Chinese tech titan Huawei over national security concerns.

"The (US) tariff measures have not boosted American economic growth. Instead, they have done serious harm to the US economy," the Chinese government said in a white paper, pointing to what it described as increased production costs and consumer prices in the United States and threats to economic growth.

"The trade war has not 'made America great again'," it said, referring to Trump's political slogan made famous during his 2016 presidential campaign.

The white paper's release came a day after China hit $60 billion worth of US goods with new punitive tariffs ranging from five to 25 percent, in retaliation for Washington raising duty on $200 billion in Chinese goods to 25 percent.

Trump launched the trade war last year in a bid to reduce the US trade deficit with China and force Beijing to undertake economic reforms, accusing it of seeking to dominate global industries with unfair state subsidies and of acquiring American technology through theft or forced transfers.

Since Trump fired the first shot, the two countries have exchanged tit-for-tat tariffs on two-way trade worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

The resulting conflict has gutted US farm exports to China, and weighed on the manufacturing sectors in both countries.

While both sides have sought to find a resolution through several rounds of negotiations, they appear to have stalled after the latest meetings ended without a deal.

American negotiators have alleged their Chinese counterparts reneged on previous commitments, but China said Sunday the US should bear "sole and entire responsibility" for the setback in negotiations, accusing Washington of repeatedly changing its demands.

Beyond tariffs

Despite the tensions, China has reiterated that it wants to resolve trade issues through talks.

"On the trade friction started by the US: if the US wants to talk, we will keep the door open. If they want to fight, we are ready," Chinese defence minister General Wei Fenghe told an international security dialogue in Singapore on Sunday.

And the white paper said: "China does not want a trade war, but it is not afraid of one and will fight one if necessary."

With trade talks stalled, the dispute appears to be spreading beyond tariffs.

Beijing has said it will unveil its own list of "unreliable entities", apparently in response to the US blacklisting of Huawei over national security concerns, specifically over possible links to China's military.

The company has dismissed such fears, and Wei echoed that on Sunday.

"Do not think that because the head of Huawei used to serve in the military, then the company that he built is part of the military," he said.

China's deputy commerce minister Wang Shouwen said Sunday that Beijing's list will target companies that "violate market principles", cut supplies to or block Chinese enterprises, and "whose actions affect China's national security".

He did not say when the list will be published or what kind of penalties will be imposed on such firms.

Chinese state media have also dangled the threat of cutting exports of rare earths to the United States -- a key resource used in the production of everything from smartphones to military hardware.

There are hopes that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet at the G20 summit this month to ease tensions and jumpstart trade negotiations.

But Wang said he had no information when asked about the meeting at a press conference on Sunday.

US isolated as G7 ministerial draws to a close

Yahoo – AFP, Douglas Gillison, Delphine TOUITOU, June 2, 2018

Flags line the entrance of the Fairmont Hotel in the Canadian town of Whistler
as it hosts G7 ministerial meeting events (AFP Photo/Delphine TOUITOU)

Whistler (Canada) (AFP) - The United States faced unified opposition from the world's top economies to President Donald Trump's escalating, multi-front trade offensive at the end of high-level meetings Saturday soured by the imposition of tariffs.

G7 ministers urged US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who was at the event, to express their "unanimous concern and disappointments" to the White House over new US tariffs, Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau told reporters.

Morneau, speaking at the end of the Group of Seven ministerial meeting, said that the finance ministers and central bank governors were unanimously opposed at the harsh US steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire also expressed his anger as the meetings ended.

"I want to make it clear," Le Maire said, "that it is up to the US administration to make the right decisions to alleviate the situation and ease the difficulties."

He said that events next week "will depend on the decision the (US) administration is ready to take in the next few days and in the next few hours -- I'm not talking about weeks ahead," Le Maire said.

Outraged leaders from the world's major economies launched legal challenges Friday after announcing countermeasures to retaliate against harsh steel and aluminum tariffs that Trump allowed to take effect.

No joint final statement emerged from the G7 ministerial meeting, a sign of the strong discord as the world's major economies verged on open trade conflict.

The European Union and Canada are the largest US exporters of steel and aluminum respectively.

Trump's tariffs on America's largest foreign providers of the crucial metals upended the agenda for this normally convivial event for consensus-building among countries that account for about half of global GDP.

Finance ministers at this snow-capped mountain resort north of Vancouver, British Columbia instead spoke of exasperation and an abiding sense of betrayal by a long-time ally.

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (C) and his Jpanaese counterpart Taro 

Aso (R), attend the opening of the G7 finance ministers and central bank governors 

conference in Whistler, British Columbia on May 31, 2018 (AFP Photo/Don MacKinnon)

Getting an earful from allies

Chairing the meeting, host nation Canada's Finance Minister Bill Morneau allowed participants to register grievances with Mnuchin one at a time, according to a Canadian source.

Behind the closed doors Mnuchin listened but spoke little, saying instead the discussion could continue at next week's G7 summit in the French-speaking province of Quebec at which Trump is expected to participate, according to several sources briefed on the talks.

But the week's whirlwind global developments in trade suggested de-escalation was unlikely. In Washington on Friday, Trump mooted the possibility of scrapping the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement in favor of seeking bilateral agreements with Canada and Mexico.

G7 governments were also digesting Trump's threats to impose tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars in US auto imports on purported national security grounds.

In China, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross was due to conduct trade talks with Chinese officials even as Washington finalizes planned sanctions on Beijing -- including restrictions on Chinese investment in the United States, new export controls and 25 percent tariffs on about $50 billion in tech-sector goods.

The talks come despite Washington's apparent announcement last month of a truce with Beijing following talks in Washington last month.

China has threatened to hit back with tit-for-tat tariffs on tens of billions of dollars in US goods -- as have Canadian, EU and Mexican authorities.

They have targeted goods manufactured in key US political districts that could weaken Trump's hand after November's mid-term elections.

The final list of Chinese imports affected by US tariffs will be announced June 15 and imposed shortly thereafter, while the proposed investment restrictions and enhanced export controls will be announced by June 30, according to the White House.

"China's door for negotiation remains open," foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Friday.

Merkel and Uruguay's Vazquez push to deepen EU-Mercosur ties

Angela Merkel intends to push trade talks between the EU and Mercosur nations. The chancellor has met with Uruguay's president to forge new bonds in the wake of Donald Trump's inauguration in the United States.

Deutsche Welle, 8 February 2017

On Wednesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel said new right-wing administrations in Latin America had improved the chances of an EU trade pact with  Mercosur, the region's primary trading bloc. The German chancellor's search for new trade partners has grown increasingly urgent for EU businesses after the election of US President Donald Trump cast doubt on the future of bilateral trade ties with the United States.

"We, as the European Union, if we perhaps don't advance or advance more slowly with a view to the United States - we will have to see - of course will continue to negotiate other trade agreements quickly," Merkel, who is facing an increasingly tough re-election fight, said on Wednesday. "We are negotiating with Japan, with India, with Australia, and we are negotiating with Mercosur."

Trump has said he will not allow the United States to sign on to the controversial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership during his presidency.

"Before anything, we need to know what the agreement will be with the new US administration," Merkel said on Wednesday. "The topic of free trade will be important at the G20 meeting. We will see then what the priorities of the US administration are."

Founded in 1991, Mercosur entered into its first trade negotiations with the European Union in 1999. The bloc's members are Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil, after Venezuela was suspended in December. Merkel said Uruguay could prove a "motor" toward bringing negotiations to a beneficial end in Brussels.

'To continue pushing'

President Tabare Vazquez seeks to firm overseas bonds as Uruguay's neighbors experience economic hardships. He is headed for Finland next, and his trip will wrap up in Russia. But there may be a good reason why his first stop was Berlin.

"Germany is a fundamental member of the European Union," Vazquez said. "We have committed to keep pressing the negotiations to reach an agreement between Mercosur and the EU."

The president pointed out that Uruguay "has historically advocated for the demolition of barriers and the elimination of obstacles to commerce."

Vazquez also criticized Trump, especially his ban on refugees and travelers and immigrants from seven mostly Muslim countries. He said Uruguay had been built by immigrants from Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries. The indigenous population was largely wiped out by disease and colonialist slaughter by the end of the 1830s.

"We do not agree with making walls," Vazquez said on Wednesday. "We want to build bridges between nations. We do not believe that nations should discriminate on ethnic or religious grounds or on the basis of sexual preference." He added: "We believe in the peaceful search for solutions. Because of this, some of the actions of the president of the United States concern us. "

mkg/sms (EFE, Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP)

After poncho mockery, world leaders tone it down in Peru with shawls

Yahoo – AFP, Sam Reeves,  November 20, 2016

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group has a decades-old tradition of
getting presidents and prime ministers to don traditional garments of the host
country for their annual get-together (AFP Photo/Brendan Smialowski)

Lima (AFP) - After sparking ridicule several years ago by dressing world leaders in baggy ponchos, Peru toned it down Sunday by getting dignitaries at a major summit to wear shawls made from the fine wool of a mountain-dwelling creature called the vicuna.

From Chinese tunics to Philippine pineapple shirts, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group has a decades-old tradition of getting presidents and prime ministers to don traditional garments of the host country for their annual get-together.

And Peru was not going to disappoint as heads of APEC nations gathered in the capital Lima, with leaders appearing for the traditional "family photo" with long, brown shawls made from the coveted wool of the vicuna -- a llama-like animal -- draped over their shoulders.

The global power players, among them US President Barack Obama, China's Xi Jinping and Japan's Shinzo Abe, looked relaxed, smiling and waving as they lined up in alphabetical order according to their countries.

By opting for shawls rather than ponchos, the attire generally associated with the South American nation, Peru may have been seeking to avoid the mockery that accompanied its hosting of the 2008 APEC summit.

On that occasion, world leaders appeared in voluminous ponchos, leading some to poke fun at the unflattering, shapeless garments for resembling potato sacks.

The wool of the vicuna, an animal found in the Andes mountains, is among the rarest natural fibers in the world, making it extremely costly and prized by fashion designers.

It was a relatively modest APEC fashion parade compared to previous editions, 

which have sometimes led to awkward moments (AFP Photo/Brendan Smialowski)

A businesswoman working in the fashion industry in Peru told AFP the price of such a shawl would be "between $1,500 and $3,000, depending on the quality."

The vicuna, which as the national animal of Peru appears in the country's coat of arms, was revered by the Incas, whose ancient empire stretched over a large part of South America. Only members of royalty were permitted to wear its wool.

This year's was a relatively modest APEC fashion parade compared to previous editions, which have sometimes led to awkward moments.

When Vietnam hosted the summit several years ago, world leaders looked visibly uncomfortable as they shuffled onto the stage for a photo-op wearing the tight-fitting traditional "ao dai" tunics, which are now most commonly worn by women.

The tradition harks back to 1993, when US President Bill Clinton put his APEC colleagues in macho-looking leather bomber jackets -- the kind worn by World War II fighter pilots.

A look back #APECsummit traditional fashion as Peru chooses vicuna wool shawls after 2008 poncho mockery https://t.co/5hQDxxgqV8 pic.twitter.com/o8S01KOMdx

— AFP news agency (@AFP) November 20, 2016

Related Article:

China takes the driver's seat on free trade

Asia-Pacific leaders pose for the traditional family photo at the APEC summit in Lima

EU, Canada sign delayed trade deal

Yahoo – AFP, Danny Kemp, October 30, 2016

(L-R) European Council President Donald Tusk, Canadian Prime Minister
 Justin Trudeau and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker during
 the EU-Canada summit meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels on October 30,
2016 (AFP Photo/John Thys)

Brussels (AFP) - The EU and Canada finally signed a landmark free trade deal seven years in the making on Sunday, after overcoming last-minute resistance from a small Belgian region that nearly torpedoed the entire agreement.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau flew to Brussels for a ceremony that had been pushed back from Thursday after Wallonia with its population of 3.6 million initially vetoed a pact affecting more than 500 million people.

But in a sign of the fierce passions aroused by the giant Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), protesters burst through riot police lines and hurled red paint at the EU's headquarters.

"That I be here today or three days ago is not going to make a huge difference in the grand scheme of the real impact it's going to have for this good deal to move forward," Trudeau said after signing the pact with leaders of the EU institutions.

Cheers and applause erupted as they inked a long-anticipated deal that will remove 99 percent of customs duties between the two sides, linking the single EU market of 28 nations with the world's 10th largest economy.

'Disintegration of West'

The leaders hailed the pact as good news after the Belgian drama, which sparked dire warnings for the EU's credibility as it wrestles with Britain's shock vote to leave, a huge migration crisis and the threat of a resurgent Russia.

The signing was also further delayed when Trudeau's plane from Canada suffered "mechanical issues" and had to turn back for repairs.

"Patience is a tree whose root is bitter, but its fruit is very sweet," EU President Donald Tusk said. "Today's decisions demonstrate that the disintegration of the Western community does not need to become a lasting trend."

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker meanwhile said the deal was an "international standard that will have to be followed by others" -- not least an even bigger agreement that the EU is negotiating with the United States.

But the fate of the Canada-EU deal -- so close to the finish line after seven gruelling years of negotiations -- had been hanging by a thread until just days ago because of Belgium.

French-speaking Wallonia had for two weeks resisted huge pressure to back the deal until it won concessions for regional farming interests and guarantees that international investors will not be able to force governments to change laws.

Following marathon talks led by Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, the Walloons finally agreed on Thursday evening, and a day later, Trudeau agreed to fly in for the delayed signing.

The pact required all EU member states to endorse it and in some cases such as Belgium's for regional governments to agree too, giving tiny Wallonia an effective veto.

Minister-President of Belgium's Walloon Region Paul Magnette leaves the stage

 after a speech about the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement 

(CETA) (AFP Photo/Bruno Fahy)

'Trojan horse'

Concerns in the declining industrialised region in Belgium's south reflect wider worries in Europe about globalisation, as well as fears among activists that such deals erode consumer, social and environmental protections.

On Sunday, around 100 protesters banged drums and shouted slogans outside the European Council building while Belgian riot police backed by water cannon looked on, AFP reporters said.

The glass front doors of the building were also daubed with red paint after some protesters briefly managed to break through police lines, with a number of them arrested.

The activists also see CETA as a Trojan horse for the even larger -- and more controversial -- deal between the EU and the United States.

Negotiations for that deal, known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), have however stalled in recent weeks, and the goal of approving it by the end of President Barack Obama's term in office now having been abandoned.

The troubles with the Canadian deal have meanwhile been seen as a possible harbinger of things to come for Britain as it tries to negotiate a new trade pact with the EU after it leaves the bloc -- most likely in 2019.

Related Articles:

TTIP is (almost) dead, long live CETA!
Bank of England governor Carney eyes exit: reports

TTIP is (almost) dead, long live CETA!

EU ministers are clearing up the final points of contention in the CETA free trade agreement with Canada. TTIP talks with the US, however, seem to have broken down for good. Barbara Wesel reports from Bratislava.

Deutsche Welle, 23 Sep 2019

One might say that German Economic Affairs Minister Sigmar Gabriel was almost passionate: "CETA puts people up front, and not just the economic success of a few."

The treaty could in fact become the standard for other trade agreements. It is the first treaty to create reasonable rules for globalization, the German politician said; thus it could serve as an example of how global trade can be shaped.

Casting doubt aside

At dinner Thursday, European ministers and their Canadian counterpart Chrystia Freeland agreed to remove all doubt from the treaty's final text. Both sides want to nail down sticking points - such as securing workers' rights, guarantees for the independence of arbitration courts and ensuring that there is no pressure to privatize public services - in a legally binding supplemental statement.

Gabriel defended CETA in Bratislava

With the statement, they seek to dispel the doubts expressed by various social democratic parties in the EU, such as in Belgian Wallonia and in Austria. "Now [Austrian Chancellor Christian] Kern will have to see how he can get himself out of this one," joked the country's economic minister, Reinhold Mitterlehner, in Bratislava.

Mitterlehner is a member of the Austrian People's Party, the chancellor's conservative coalition partner. Sigmar Gabriel, who had to make positive assurances to his own Social Democratic Party (SPD), is now coming out strongly in support of the treaty.

The timetable is set

A number of hurdles still have to be cleared before the treaty can go into effect. Trade ministers hope to formally adopt the CETA on October 18, and it is to be signed by all member states at the EU-Canada summit at the end of the month. After that it will have to be ratified by 28 national parliaments, a process that can take time.

Nonetheless, those portions of the agreement that fall under European purview could go into effect as early as the beginning of next year. That is when the European Parliament intends to vote on the treaty.

The chairman of the European Parliament Committee on International Trade, Bernd Lange of Germany, believes there is a solid majority in favor of the agreement, saying there was a "good treaty on the horizon." Lange said the next step will be a dialogue with society at large, as well as with national parliaments, in order to discuss the details of the agreement.

Bratislava was no stranger to the TTIP and CETA opposition movement

Above all, tariff rules and actual trade provisions could go into effect temporarily. Agreements on the courts of arbitration, intellectual property and several more items will be contingent upon approval by national parliaments. In general, Lange, a Social Democrat, says that CETA is a progressive, cooperative agreement. In Bratislava, much talk was made of the fact that the Canadians had been very patient with problems within the EU over the course of the seven-year-long negotiations.

TTIP is (almost) dead

"CETA and TTIP are two fundamentally different pairs of shoes," said Lange, who is the official rapporteur for the TTIP. Negotiations with the US will bring no results in the foreseeable future, he added, as Washington has refused to make many concessions to the EU.

In any case, one will have to wait until the US elections are over: "If Trump wins, TTIP will die instantly; if Clinton wins, one will have to wait and see what her stance is toward Europe," said the EU lawmaker.

Lange is for putting negotiations on the "night stand," while others want it "put on ice." Austria, France and a number of smaller countries are calling for them to be scrapped altogether. "TTIP has become a metaphor for the hegemony of big corporations," said Austrian Economics Minister Mitterlehner.

He thinks that it would be wrong to simply give the agreement a new name: "Rebranding is not enough. We have to redefine the rules of the game, the goals and the transparency."

However, a large number of member states are in agreement with the European Commission: They want to continue negotiations in order to at least hang on to the few successes that talks have brought thus far. One thing, however, is certain: An agreement will not be reached with the Obama administration. Heads of government will discuss the life and death of TTIP at the EU summit in mid-October. Negotiations are thought to be as good as dead, yet so far, no one seems willing to issue a death certificate.