German Businesses Urge Berlin To Boost Cooperation With EAEU Amid US Protectionism

The German business community has urged the German government to strengthen its cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) as a means to respond to the threat of protectionism stemming from the United States, head of the German Eastern Business Association (OAOEV) Wolfgang Buechele said Thursday in a statement.

BERLIN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th September, 2018) The German business community has urged the German government to strengthen its cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) as a means to respond to the threat of protectionism stemming from the United States, head of the German Eastern Business Association (OAOEV) Wolfgang Buechele said Thursday in a statement.

"The EU's best response to the growing protectionist threat is free trade agreements with as many countries and regions as possible. After successful EU negotiations with South Korea, Canada and Japan and statements on agreements with MERCOSUR [South American trade bloc] and Africa, we unfortunately do not see any new efforts to cooperate with the EAEU," the statement read.

Buechele stressed that complex political relations with Russia should not hinder trade relations with the EAEU.

"Complex political relations with Russia should not lead to further downtime here. On the contrary, the small member states of the EAEU Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan look forward to launching direct negotiations.

Anyone looking for ways to develop a constructive agenda with Russia for mutual benefit and building new trust should start with this item," he added.

Buechele welcomed the fact that the German government had previously stated it was open for negotiations between the European Union and the EAEU, and he felt that Berlin should now "use its weight at the European level to remove existing blockades."

During his presidential campaign, incumbent US President Donald Trump promised to change the country's trade policies by resorting to protectionism. After his inauguration, the leader started to fulfill his promises, which included introducing additional tariffs on aluminum and steel imports, as well as withdrawing the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).