BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe issued a staunch joint defence of free trade Sunday, as the United States pushes towards greater protectionism. “We want free and open markets,” Merkel said in a speech in Hanover, a day before the world’s biggest computer trade fair, CeBIT, kicks off in the central German city. That’s what free trade is about,” she said. “At a time when we are arguing a lot over free trade, open borders and democratic values, it’s a good sign that Japan and Germany are not arguing” over trade, she said. Abe, who is in Hanover as part of a European tour, said that Japan “wants to be the champion upholding open systems alongside Germany”.

Source: Manila Times March 20, 2017 02:26 UTC