Conclusions reached today by Miguel Sebastian, professor of Economics at the Complutense University of Madrid and former Minister of Industry, Tourism and Trade (2008-2011), and José Carlos Diez, professor and researcher at the University of Alcala de Henares.

In a wide-ranging debate sponsored by Casa de America, the experts reviewed ideas, threats and realities generated by the projections of the US president a little more than a month before returning to the White House.

Leaving the WTO (World Trade Organization) and other institutions poses at least an anarchy in the short term that, if no one dares to neutralize it, will end in a bitter and painful trade war, they commented.

Ignoring climate change, the system created by the community after World War II and thinking that by raising tariffs the U.S. economy will take off as never before, are follies with dangerous consequences, Professor Sebastian pointed out.

Europe (European Union), said Diez, should focus on seeking its own answers, addressing the weak points of the United States in tariff issues and at the same time strengthening its industries, especially the automobile industry, which is going through a bad moment due to the consolidation of China as the absolute dominator of the electric car sector.

The analysts pointed out that the balance of trade reveals many aspects, such as the fact that China accounts for 80 percent of the U.S. trade deficit and another nation that is less talked about, Vietnam, 150 billion dollars of the northern nation’s debt.

Although with different points of view, Sebastian and Diez agreed on the need for the EU to organize itself better and truly act as a bloc by associating more with Canada and Mexico, and Latin America and the Caribbean in general.

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