The French central bank governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau warned the American President Donald Trump to de-escalate the trade dispute. Trump committed the world to a “loose-free game” that was based on error-related economic arguments, said Villeroy de Galhau during a speech in New York. Villeroy de Galhau belongs to the ECB council, which decides on the monetary policy of the European Monetary Union and is considered one of the most influential European central bankers in general. Also in the direction of the White House, he said: “It is more important than ever to say the truth to completely estimate the damage to a trade war and open the way to a possible positive dialogue.” Villeroy also opposed Trump’s claim that the European Union had been founded several times to exploit the United States. That is wrong. Rather, it was created to bring Europe to Europe after the second war and to convert it into a stable democratic market economy. “These are the three most important American values, and this Union (the EU) was legally founded with American support,” he said. The speech shows how tense the relationship between Washington and Brussels is present. In addition, Villeroy held his speech only a few hours after the international currency fund drastically reduced its forecasts for global growth in this and next year and warned that they could continue to deteriorate if Trump sticks to his course. Villeroy also said: “International trade is not a zero -sum game in which the profit of a country is inevitably the loss of another country.” On the contrary, “it is the most effective way to thrive together through the exchange of goods and services, ideas, talents and innovations.” The United States would also have to recognize that its surplus in the area of services towards Europe has increased significantly in recent years, he said and also emphasized that the VAT are not durated, as is sometimes shown by the Trump government. There is still room for “pragmatic multilateralism” between the USA and Europe when it comes to financial stability, cross-border payments and crypto assets, cyber security, the fight against financial crime and the prevention of extreme climate events, Villeroy said. He also commented on the threats made by Trump to the American central bank chief Jerome Powell: “As we recently seen, attacks on the independence and credibility of the central banks have been very negative.” On Tuesday, Trump said before Reports that contrary to different reports, he had not intended to fire Powell.
US tariffs in the live ticker: France’s central bank chief warns Trump: No “loose-free game” play
