Politics
12:26, 29-Mar-2018
Is China as seen from a glass house? US leaders find China as the scapegoat
["china","north america"]
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By CGTN’s The Point
“Is it a good reason to scapegoat China for damage that was done in the US to part of the population because the US domestic system is unable to cope with that? My answer is no,” said Pascal Lamy, former director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO). “If you read a bit of history, you know that scapegoating foreigners is always a good trick in politics.”
His comments came amid ongoing trade frictions between China and the US. After increasing US tariffs on steel and aluminum, US President Donald Trump signed a memorandum that could impose tariffs on up to 60 billion US dollars worth of imports from China in addition to restrictions on Chinese investment in the US.
“Chinese exports to the US on steel and aluminum are today very small because they’ve been previously hit by anti-dumping, anti-subsidy, and safeguards,” said Lamy. He thought that Trump using “such a big hammer for such a small amount of trade” was his way of sending a symbolic message to the American people, especially to those in the Rust Belt, as he wants them to re-elect him.
In response to the complaint of unbalanced tariffs, saying the EU charges a 10 percent tariff on imported American vehicles, while the US imposes a 2.5 percent tariff on imported European cars, Lamy agreed that there is a difference. But he also added that facing the same tariff, Japan, ROK and China are doing well in the European market, while the US is not.
“Japan, South Korea and China can produce cars that fit with what European consumers want, and the US doesn’t,” he explained.
Pascal Lamy, former Director-General of the WTO /CGTN Photo
Pascal Lamy, former Director-General of the WTO /CGTN Photo
Lamy added that the role of the WTO should be to listen and negotiate with members to solve their problems. “The WTO system can be improved and should be improved in many directions,” he said.
“If the US is demolishing the system instead of fixing or improving it if they are exiting from it, other countries will keep the benefits of the system for themselves,” and the US will “lose this insurance policy they have subscribed like all WTO members against unfair protectionism,” he concluded.
The Point with Liu Xin is a 30-minute current affairs program on CGTN. It airs weekdays at 9:30 p.m. BJT (1330GMT), with rebroadcasts at 5:30 a.m. (2130GMT) and 10:30 a.m. (0230GMT).