- Title: EU has nothing to be smug about on Brexit negotiations - Merkel
- Date: 1st October 2019
- Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (OCTOBER 1, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL WALKING WITH INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES OF IMF, WTO, WORLD BANK OECD SECRETARY GENERAL ANGEL GURRIA TALKING VARIOUS OF INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES OF IMF, WTO, WORLD BANK BEFORE ROUND TABLE TALKS GURRIA AND IMF ACTING MANAGING DIRECTOR DAVID LIPTON TALKING MERKEL GREETING INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES OF IMF, WTO, WORLD BANK MEDIA VARIOUS OF MERKEL AND INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES OF IMF, WTO, WORLD BANK DURING NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL, SAYING: "Secondly, we have nothing to be smug about. We've been negotiating an orderly British exit for three years. And that brings us great uncertainty when you consider that that exit should happen on October 31. And people and workers still don't know how supply chains will look. This is a significant source of uncertainty since Britain isn't a small European country but a large global player and so I say that everyone should clear up their own backyard and then the world will be better." VARIOUS OF JOURNALISTS TAKING NOTES (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD BANK PRESIDENT DAVID MALPASS, SAYING: "The global slowdown is apparent. The World Bank forecast in June was for 2.6 percent growth but it looks from the data that we won't be achieving that and there will be a further reduction in the forecasts. It's due to an uncertainty on trade, to Brexit and also to frozen capital, which was discussed in the meeting." MEDIA MERKEL LISTENING TO LIPTON TALKING MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) IMF ACTING MANAGING DIRECTOR DAVID LIPTON, SAYING: "Beyond that I think that unless the trade tensions are diffused, it is very hard to see mainstream macro-economic tolls countering the impact of escalating trade difficulties so it is very important that those be de-escalated. Of course policy makers have to provide support where they can. It has been important that central banks have stood ready to provide support and we believe that has been a vital factor in stemming the slowdown in the global economy." VARIOUS OF PANEL WITH MERKEL LISTENING MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) OECD SECRETARY GENERAL ANGEL GURRIA, SAYING: "First of all we have been saying that all the time! Publicly and openly and with the facts. Calculating how much the world economy is slowing down and the other question is how much the world economy can go even further down, I don't want to mention the 'R' word (but) if we continue the escalation so I would echo what David Lipton said: Do no harm. Don't escalate! So that is a message we have all been sending in different ways." MERKEL AND OTHERS GETTING UP / NEWS CONFERENCE ENDS
- Embargoed: 15th October 2019 19:20
- Keywords: Merkel IMF World Bank Brexit trade war China-U.S. President Trump
- Location: BERLIN, GERMANY
- City: BERLIN, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Economic Events
- Reuters ID: LVA001AZ9KSY5
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Europe is not blameless in the trade tensions casting a pall over the global economy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, mentioning the lengthening Brexit negotiations as a source of uncertainty to stand beside the United States-China trade war.
Speaking after a meeting with leaders of multilateral financial institutions on Tuesday, Merkel declined to lay the blame for the slowing global economy solely on U.S. President Donald Trump's hard-line stance on trade with China.
Officials across Europe are growing increasingly concerned at the lack of progress Prime Minister Boris Johnson is making on a new deal to regulate Britain's departure from the European Union after parliament rejected the one negotiated by his predecessor Theresa May three times.
An unregulated exit would bring tariff and regulatory barriers down around Britain's borders, disrupting industrial supply chains that have grown deeply entwined over the half-century of Britain's membership.
Other top international officials struck a gloomy note on the prospects for the global economy if the shadows cast by trade disputes continued to lengthen, with the risk of recession seemingly uppermost in some minds.
(Production: Holger Koerner / Fanny Brodersen / Tanya Wood) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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