Warsaw: The European Union might fill a void in global trade left by the United States if the world's biggest economy turns more inward-looking with Donald Trump as president, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said yesterday.
Trump won the November 8 election campaigning on a protectionist policy stance that has raised concerns among some economists that global trade could suffer during his four-year term.
"Now it is possible that the United States will be more inward-looking over the coming years. Less prone to negotiate trade agreements, but also to engage on the international scene," Malmstrom said.
"I think the EU has a possibility to fill the void," she told a congress of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (AlDE) party in Warsaw.
"We can show that walls, that protectionism are not what the world needs right now," Malmstrom said.
"We can show that open borders and trade are compatible with sustainable developmentand high standards."
