Trade barriers hurt everyone: APEC official
- By Li Huiru
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E-mail China.org.cn, August 24, 2018
In today's global value chain, components and services are sourced from many countries, with almost everything now "Made everywhere". Therefore, putting up barriers to trade through tariffs and unilateral action hurts everyone, an APEC official said at the APEC Youth Innovation Summit 2018 on August 23 in Chengdu.
![Antonio Basilio, executive director of the International Secretariat of the APEC Business Advisory Council, attends the opening ceremony of the APEC Youth Innovation Summit 2018 on August 23 in Chengdu. [Photo by Li Huiru / China.org.cn]](http://images.china.cn/site1007/2018-08/24/6c84eed8-7350-4d77-96ef-23d07538fbdc.jpg "Antonio Basilio, executive director of the International Secretariat of the APEC Business Advisory Council, attends the opening ceremony of the APEC Youth Innovation Summit 2018 on August 23 in Chengdu. [Photo by Li Huiru / China.org.cn]")
Antonio Basilio, executive director of the International Secretariat of APEC Business Advisory Council based in Manila, expressed his concern that unilateralism carried out by the United States over trade may put the global economy recovery at risk.
"We are worried about the raising trade tensions, if they are not resolved, it could put at risk the recovery we are seeing now," Basilio said.
He said that one of the challenges that his organization has been working on is addressing sustainable and inclusive growth.
Basilio pointed out that globalization and the multilateral trading system – represented by the WTO - is under threat in many economies.
"Yes it is true not all sectors of society have benefited equally and some have suffered losses. But to solely blame it for these negative consequences is also misplaced. In the main, this situation can only be tackled through structural reform to make economies more competitive as well as providing safety nets and adjustment assistance to enable individuals and communities to seize the new opportunities that are being created by globalization."
"If disputes need to be settled, there are dispute settle mechanisms in the WTO and if there are individual agreements, bilateral or regional mechanisms can settle disputes. If reform is needed to make them more effective, by all means, it needs to be done within the system," he said.
China, on the same day, filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization against U.S. tariffs on 16 billion U.S. dollars' worth of Chinese goods under the Section 301 investigation, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
And China's Vice Minister of Commerce and Deputy China International Trade Representative Wang Shouwen is in Washington for resumed talks.
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