Rising protectionism in the United States and other countries
could possibly hurt global economy, William Rhodes, senior vice
chairman of the Citigroup Inc, warned on Thursday.
"When I'm talking about protectionism, it's not just in the
United States, but also in other places in the world," Rhodes told
a plenary session at the Inaugural Annual Meeting of the New
Champions which kicked off on Thursday in the northeastern Chinese
port city Dalian.
Mounting protectionism could make it harder for countries to
reach an agreement on the long-stalled global trade talks, he
said.
"Protectionism could also hurt the Doha round of trade talks,"
he added.
His concerns about rising protectionism were echoed by other
participants in the meeting.
"I'm increasingly worried about protectionism in the United
States when we move on to the political silly season," said Kristin
Forbes, professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, referring to the upcoming U.S. presidential election, a
time when politicians usually use protectionist campaign slogans to
woo voters.
American people should not forget the benefits of free trade and
globalization, she added.
(Xinhua News Agency September 7, 2007)
