economy and politics

De Guindos (ECB) warns of a possible tariff war if the US applies them

He points out that the approach is to “reduce monetary restrictiveness”

S’AGARÓ (GIRONA), 29 ()

The vice president of the European Central Bank (ECB) has warned of a possible tariff war if the United States applies them when the new Administration of President-elect Donald Trump is established.

He said it this Friday at the opening of the 29th Economic Meeting in S’Agaró (Girona), together with the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa; the president of the Chamber of Spain, José Luis Bonet; the president of the Olof Palme International Foundation (Fiop), Anna Balletbò, and the director of ‘La Vanguardia’, Jordi Juan.

“I am not as concerned about the first action as the reactions. When one raises tariffs, one forgets that the one in front can react, and this reaction can lead to a vicious circle,” he said.

De Guindos has said that a trade war “would be extremely detrimental to the growth of the global economy.”

However, he pointed out that tariffs lead to a reaction in exchange rates and that the euro has already depreciated against the dollar, “and this has been able to offset the potential increase in tariffs.”

On the other hand, he has indicated the need to be aware of the fiscal policy that the new US Administration may have, since “Europe is not totally isolated” from the country’s economy and can affect capital flows.

RATE LOWER

Regarding the evolution of monetary policy, de Guindos has pointed out that the general approach is to “reduce the restrictiveness” of monetary policy.

Although he did not want to advance the decision that the ECB will take at the next meeting – scheduled for December 12 and in which the markets expect a new rate reduction – he has indicated that inflation tends to converge with the objective. long term 2%.

He recalled that the latest inflation data in the euro zone is 2.3% – 2.7% in core inflation – although he warned that services inflation has stagnated at around 4%. .

He pointed out the existing uncertainties in geopolitics and politics and said that to address them “a European integration policy is needed now more than ever.”

AUTHORITIES

For his part, Bonet lamented that, despite the fact that the situation of the Spanish economy “is quite good”, inequality is growing, so it is necessary to find solutions.

Balletbò has celebrated that Catalonia “is the only optimistic point” of the current moment, already lamenting that Spanish politics has, in his words, an increasingly worse situation.

Juan has agreed to warn about the situation in Spanish politics that is “getting worse” and that polarization is increasing on both sides of the ideological spectrum.

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