ASEAN, EU close ranks in face of trade war threat

Southeast Asia and Europe stressed the importance of pushing back against protectionism and the threat of global trade wars yesterday, as their ministers work towards the eventual goal of a region-toregion free trade pact.

The US is embroiled in trade spats with China and close allies including the European Union, imposing tit-for-tat tariffs on billions of dollars worth of goods and heightening fears of economic pain that could spread worldwide.

At a meeting in Singapore, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini assured her Southeast Asian counterparts that they could count on Europe as a free trade partner.

“We stand on the side of a free and fair trade that benefits all, instead of damaging trade wars,” she told reporters at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) forum.

Mogherini voiced hope that bilateral trade accords the EU is negotiating with several ASEAN states “will be the stepping stone towards a future region-to-region deal”.

Washington escalated the trade row this week by saying it was considering more than doubling threatened tariffs on a range of Chinese imports worth US$200 billion.

The US has already imposed 25 percent tariffs on US$34 billion in Chinese goods, with another US$16 billion to be targeted in coming weeks. “There’s been unanimity of concern over looming trade wars because as we know in a war there are no winners,” Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano told reporters yesterday.