Trade Protectionism Seen as EU Joins U.S. for Trade Talks

19/06/2013 12:00 - 453 Views

The world’s largest economies are adopting policies to impede global commerce as growth remains sluggish, the World Trade Organization said in a study released as the leaders of the Group of Eight industrial nations met.

During the past seven months, members of the expanded Group of 20 nations implemented 109 measures to restrict trade, down from 124 actions to limit commerce in the same period a year earlier, according to the report today from the Geneva-based WTO.

“To overcome protectionist threats and to prevent a self-destructive lapse into economic nationalism, G-20 economies need to refocus their attention on reinforcing the multilateral trading system,” it said.

The U.S. and 27-nation EU are set to announce the start of negotiations soon for the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which would create a free-trade zone with about $28 trillion in annual economic output, the largest in history. The US and EU in recent months have sparred with China over its support for goods including solar-energy equipment.

The trade-restrictive measures cited in the WTO report include policies to stop imports from being sold below their production costs, as well as tariff increases. The most protected goods include electrical machinery, agricultural products and mechanical appliances, it said.

Jun 17, 2013 4:28 PM GMT

By Brian Wingfield

Source: Bloomberg.com