EU on brink: Bloc’s economy clobbered by Brexit worries and US/China trade war
Daily Express - By CIARAN MCGRATH - PUBLISHED: 08:11, Fri, Nov 29, 2019
THE European Union is paying the price for ongoing Brexit uncertainty and the ongoing US-China trade war with a notable drop in exports, especially in France, data has shown, with one expert already predicting it could push the bloc into recession.
The latest figures published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reveals trade remained weak across all G20 regions in the third quarter of 2019. A statement issued by the Paris-based organisation warned: “The slowdown was particularly pronounced in the European Union, with exports contracting by 1.8 percent and imports by 0.4 percent.
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“Exports and imports fell across all major EU economies, with declines of 3.6 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively, in France, and of 0.4 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively, in Germany.
“In Italy, trade fell for the sixth straight quarter, with exports and imports decreasing by 1.2 percent and 1.0 percent in Q3 2019.”PROMOTED STORY
The UK was not immune from the effects either, with exports contracted by 3.3 percent and imports by 1.6 percent.
DEPARTING European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker has issued a dire warning to his successors that the Continent is on a “downward slope”.
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The Brussels bureaucrat claimed there are questions over whether any European countries will remain a member of the powerful group of G7 countries in ten years time.
On his final day in office, he urged the bloc to “stick together” as its leaders are faced with a growing list of challenges. Writing for Politico, Mr Juncker said: “Europe remains the smallest continent.
Ursula von der Leyen is facing economic turmoil when she starts work on Monday (Image: GETTY)
Emmanuel Macron's France is performing particularly badly (Image: GETTY)
Timme Spakman, an economist at Dutch banking corporation ING, said: “European merchandise trade has been impacted significantly by uncertainty surrounding the trade war and Brexit.
“The slowdown of German industry had an impact on European trade, as German producers ran down inventories rather than importing new intermediates”.
Writing last month, Robert Basedow, an assistant professor in International Political Economy at the LSE’s European Institute, said the trade war between China and the US posted three challenges for the EU.
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Donald Trump with China's President Xi Jinping (Image: GETTY)
Kissinger said: “First, the US-China trade war limits global growth prospects and may push fragile economies notably in the EU into a recession.
“A recession is quite likely to rekindle economic and political tensions among EU member states and to complicate the various reform projects of the incoming von der Leyen Commission.
“Second, the trade war puts considerable stress on the World Trade Organization (WTO) and rules-based global economic governance.
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"US and Chinese actions indeed are hardly compatible with WTO law.
“The EU - and notably the European Commission - may have to adjust and learn how to operate in a different logic and context where geopolitics play a greater role.
“Third, the trade war and broader US-China tensions are likely to escalate the geopolitical situation in the Middle East.”
How the trade war developed (Image: Daily Express)
The OECD figures showed in North America, exports from the United States fell slightly, by 0.2 percent, while imports fell by 0.7 percent.
United States exports to China stayed well below the levels seen prior to the ongoing trade dispute, despite a pick-up in the second quarter (by 1.9 percent), while imports from China to the United States were down 2.1 percent.
Mexico’s exports and imports contracted (by 0.2 percent and 0.4 percent), while Canada recorded a 1.7 percent decline in exports but an increase in imports (of 0.4 percent).
USA and China are locked in a trade dispute (Image: GETTY
Imports were also weak across all major Asian economies, contracting by 9.7 percent in India, 2.3 percent in South Korea, 1.8 percent in China, and 0.4 percent in Indonesia. However, in Japan imports picked up by 0.5 percent.
Exports fared generally better, increasing by 4.1 percent, 2.2 percent and 1.6 percent respectively, in Indonesia, Japan and China.
However, they contracted in India (by 3.1 percent) and South Korea (by 0.4 percent).
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WHO and WHAT is behind it all ? : >
The bottom line is for the people to regain their original, moral principles, which have intentionally been watered out over the past generations by our press, TV, and other media owned by the Illuminati/Bilderberger Group, corrupting our morals by making misbehavior acceptable to our society. Only in this way shall we conquer this oncoming wave of evil.
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