And yet, US President Donald Trump’s slipshod approach to trade diplomacy risks pushing the EU into the arms of China. The EU’s main strategic interest in this fight is to ensure that the multilateral trading framework—including the World Trade Organization (WTO)—survives. But while the EU and the US are natural partners in rewriting the rules of world trade with China, Trump’s strategy risks depriving Washington of a strategic ally. Last year, Cecilia Malmstrom, the EU trade commissioner, compared a world without the WTO to the “Wild West.”Beijing’s courtship of the EU has intensified lately. Most European countries have already chipped in, and could invest more.

Source: Mint April 10, 2018 21:00 UTC