European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström Tuesday slammed Donald Trump’s protectionist policies on trade and migration, predicting that the new U.S. president was doomed to fail.
âThose who in the 21st century think that we can become great again by rebuilding borders, reimposing trade barriers and restricting people’s freedom to move, they are doomed to fail,â Malmström said at a conference run by the Bruegel think-tank.
âBuilding a wall is not the answer,â the commissioner continued, emphasizing that Europe had learned from the âdark daysâ of its past in which it was divided by borders and walls.
The Swedish commissioner argued that the EU remained, even with the United Kingdom leaving, the biggest trading bloc and foreign investor in the world.
âThe success of the European Union relies on our open societies and open economies,â she said. She stressed that Europe was standing by its principles by negotiating free trade agreements with more than 20Â âlike-minded nations.”
Malmström added that âsome countries are really eagerâ to speed up their talks with the EU after Trump issued an executive order to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which was supposed to establish a landmark trade deal among 12 nations at the Pacific Rim.
âThey feel, like we feel, that there can be good trade agreements that are good for business and the people,â she said. âWe need now to step up, even if others are disengaging temporarily or for a longer time.â