US President Barack Obama strongly defended globalization during his visit to Germany on his final European tour before leaving office.
Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel held a joint press conference and penned an article where they both stressed that globalization was here to stay.
They said cooperation was vital in terms of the rapidly growing global economy and “there will not be a return to a world before globalization”in an article for business magazine Wirtschaftswoche
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RT reports:
“Germans and Americans must take the opportunity to shape globalization according to our values and ideas. We are committed to broadening and deepening our cooperation with our businesses and our citizens, indeed the whole of the world community,” they said.
While visiting Athens, Obama acknowledged that globalization had fueled a “sense of injustice” and needed a “course correction” to address growing inequality.
The US and German leaders expressed support for the proposed Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the US and the EU, saying it was a chance to “shape globalization based on our values.”
The strong support of the international trade deal comes as a counterweight to US President-elect Donald Trump’s protectionist stance. Trump has been a critic of global free trade agreements and welcomed Britain’s vote to leave the EU.
TTIP “would help us grow and remain globally competitive for decades to come” and that it would “lift living standards” for both European and US “employers, workers, consumers, and farmers,” the Obama-Merkel article said.
‘#TTIP is death:’ Over 100 arrested in Brussels at US-EU trade deal protest (VIDEO)http://t.co/1cX93mfejt pic.twitter.com/yUtTAYm2Qs
— RT (@RT_com) October 16, 2015
Thousands of Europeans have protested against TTIP since the trade deal was proposed three years ago. They have criticized the treaty for its secretiveness and lack of accountability.
Trump has also opposed the agreement, blaming similar economic pacts like NAFTA for job losses in the US.
