‘Everyone Will Lose’: EU/US Trade War Coming if Anti-Russian Sanctions Go Ahead
SputnikNews.com
27.07.2017
European politicians are lining up to take aim at the US’ renewed push for anti-Russian sanctions. Leading the pack is Germany, where Economic Minister Brigitte Zypries has warned of a coming trade war between the European Union and the US. An economics expert told Sputnik that if that comes to pass, there will be no winners.
Speaking to local media, Zypries said the sanctions had the potential to harm German businesses, and slammed the US for failing to directly coordinate with the European Union and constituent Member States before pushing ahead with the program, as it did in 2014. In response, she said, Germany could pursue countersanctions, which would in turn precipitate a trade war — an eventuality she acknowledged would be “very bad” for both Europe and the US.
The new sanctions bill includes a number of measures that restrict and/or outright ban European involvement with Russian firms and projects, such as the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which would run from Russia to Europe through the Baltic Sea.
Her comments echoed the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s suggestions that new sanctions against Russia would have a negative impact on Europe’s energy security and hurt the German economy, and moreover appeared to favor US firms and Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer’s plea that anti-Russian sanctions must not become a “tool of industrial policy” pursued solely in US interests.
“In our opinion, it’s not in America’s right to judge or stipulate which way European companies may engage in cooperation with any third parties — particularly Russian energy companies,” he said.
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