Experts from Africa urge U.S. to pursue trade diplomacy

Experts from Africa on Friday urged the United States to pursue trade diplomacy instead of creating pressure on multilateral trade.

"The U.S. administration's inward looking approach of 'America-first' will hurt multilateralism," Costantinos Bt. Costantinos, who served as an economic advisor to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, told Xinhua.

According to Costantinos, in the long term, protectionism often hurts the people it is intended to protect by slowing economic growth and pushing up prices. Free trade is a better alternative, he added.

The expert's comments came as China on Monday published a white paper to clarify the facts about China-U.S. economic and trade relations.

The white paper, among other things, said the two countries are at different stages of development and have different economic systems, and therefore some level of trade friction is only natural. "The key, however, lies in how to enhance mutual trust, promote cooperation, and manage differences."

Costantinos was echoed by other United Nations representatives for the African continent.

Joy Kategekwa, head of the UN Conference on Trade and Development Regional Office for Africa, told Xinhua that "the multilateral system is a system that was developed to create harmony, predictability and certainty," and trade multilateralism can create jobs and improve people's lives by promoting exports.

"It's clear that there are pressures right now on the multilateral system," Kategekwa stressed.

The tariffs used by the United States as a "defense instrument" will have an impact on multilateralism, she added.

Kategekwa urged the United States in particular and other involved countries in general to engage in constructive discussions to solve misunderstandings, and stop further escalation of trade frictions -- a wide-scale trade war -- that would damage the global economy and trade.

"The call is ... coming back to the table and give commercial-diplomacy a chance," she said.

Francois Ekoko, regional chief of UN Office for South-South Cooperation, also called for the need to avoid further escalation.

According to Ekoko, South-South cooperation would provide an option for developing countries to reduce the possible impact from trade frictions.

"That's why we advocate more South-South cooperation exchanges," Ekoko told Xinhua. "We believe that there will be more space for developing countries to develop without too much burden from the past."

Source: Xinhua