French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday called for a “revision” of EU trade policy to defend European interests, accusing both China and the United States of no longer following the rules of world trade, AFP reports.
“The two great international powers have decided to no longer respect the rules of world trade,” said Emmanuel Macron, during a speech on Europe held at the Sorbonne.
He accused the two major world economic powers of “changing the rules of the game” and resorting to “over-subsidization”.
Faced with these new trade practices, Macron said he feared Europe would become poorer. To illustrate his point, the president used the American example: “Gross domestic product per capita in the United States grew by almost 60% between 1993 and 2022, while in Europe it grew by less than 30% “.
“The risk is that Europe will be left behind,” warned Emmanuel Macron.
The president specifically attacked the United States and the Inflation Reduction Act, accusing the world’s top economic power of following China’s lead by subsidizing its industries.
A less “naive” Europe
In this context, Emmanuel Macron called for a series of changes. The president wants “to review our growth model because the rules of the game have changed.”
“We cannot sustainably have the most demanding social and environmental standards, invest less than our competitors, have a more naïve trade policy than them and think we will continue to create jobs.”
Therefore, the head of state called for a “revision” of European trade policy “while defending our interests”. “It cannot work if we are the only ones in the world who follow the trade rules as they were written 15 years ago, if the Chinese and the Americans stop following them by subsidizing critical sectors,” he stressed.
