Baltic Rim Economies 2/2020
A special issue on trade policy
Published on the 29th of May 2020
Let’s empower the European way
“We are in the midst of a global crisis. The decisions people and governments take in the next few weeks will shape the future of our societies for years to come. Within only a short period of time we make choices that affect people’s lives over the next decade. The nature of emergencies is that all of a sudden processes that used to be stuck in bureaucracy start running in leaps.”
Elina Lepomäki
Member of Parliament, National Coalition Party
Finland
China is committed to building an open world economy
“In January this year, China and the United States reached the phase-one economic and trade agreement, representing an important step towards resolving China-US trade friction. The agreement not only serves the interests of the two countries and their peoples, but also has strengthened the confidence of the market, stabilized market expectations, and created a good environment for business activities, especially when the global economy is currently under downward pressures.”
Chen Li
Chinese Ambassador to Finland
Lessons learnt from the 1930s: Protectionism is not the way to exit from the COVID-19 crisis
“As a result of COVID-19 we are probably facing the most challenging global economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The big question is whether we have learnt our lessons so that we can avoid making the same mistakes that were made 90 years ago. Protectionism was not and will not be the right response. Free- and rules-based trade is the best-known counter-medicine for protectionism and has the advantage of lowering the costs of goods and services for both producers and consumers.”
Petri Vuorio,
Director of EU Affairs and Trade Policy,
Confederation of Finnish Industries EK’s Brussels Office
Protectionism, managed trade, and transactional deals: Trump’s ‘America First’ trade policy
“When Donald Trump took office in January 2017, he laid out his trade policy agenda quite clearly. However, few observers believed that he would fully follow through with his “America First” approach. Many, who saw in Trump’s election rhetoric more than just words, argued that Congress would eventually reign in the new president.”
Stormy-Annika Mildner,
Dr., Head,
Department External Economic Policy, Federation of German Industries,
Germany
Adjunct Lecturer,
Hertie School of Governance,
Germany