Trump's decisions pose "serious risk" to world trade order: French economy minister

The decisions of the U.S. Administration of Donald Trump "pose a serious risk to the world trade order," French Minister of Economy and Finance Michel Sapin said Tuesday.

He made the remarks Tuesday during a conference held in Paris on the subject of commercial openness.

When the future of international trade is increasingly being questioned and trade openness causes dissatisfaction, "we are facing today a new wind of contestation of the benefits of commercial openness," Sapin said, noting that this challenge leads in particular the United States "to take unilateral protectionist decisions that could destabilize the global economy as a whole."

"Unexpectedly, it is China who poses as a defender of free trade on the international scene against the American withdrawal," Sapin said.

On the French vision of trade openness, Sapin said France remains clear on this subject: "Yes to its pursuit, but under conditions that it guarantees fair distribution and sustainable growth."

According to him, the European Union is a" unique opportunity for France and for all our European partners to weigh decisively in this new order," and "we must, through the European institutions, defend our vision of this open and just trade policy." Endit