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17 May 2017
Germany's Merkel: Free trade agreements have to do more than just cut tariffs - Reuters
German Chancellor Angela Merkel crossed the wires, via Reuters, arguing that trade agreements must go far beyond just cutting tariffs.
Key quotes (via Reuters):
- A modern trade agreement has to be about more than cutting tariffs
- It should also be about environmental and consumer standards and should have transparent conflict resolution mechanisms
- On protectionism: They begin with natural resource extraction and then pass through many hands in different countries before coming finally to a sellable product. Whoever blocks or hinders these chains hurts everyone