EU trade chief dismisses Macron's criticism of WTO

Emmanuel Macron said the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is not working and that several countries are breaking away from it, but in Geneva European Trade Commissioner Maroš Sefcovic renewed the EU's commitment to multilateral world trade rules.

Reported from Euronews that European Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič underscored EU commitment to World Trade Organization rules during a visit to the body in Geneva on Tuesday, brushing aside scepticism about adherence to the body's rules expressed earlier this week by French President Emmanuel Macron.

"We are committed to the proper functioning and revitalisation of the World Trade Organisation,” he said before meeting director-general of the WTO Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, adding: "If the WTO is to remain the most relevant forum for the world trading system, it must address all the issues we face in the current trading system, in the interests of all.”

The statement of faith contrasted sharply with that of the French President who the day before, in front of French ambassadors, denounced the shackles of international trade rules that neither the US nor China respect.

"We must defend our ability to produce in every part of the major value chain in Europe,” Macron said, adding that EU tariffs imposed on Chinese electric vehicles did not go far enough. "This is quite simply what the US has been doing for decades, for itself and with its partners, within the [North America Free Trade Agreement]."

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