G7 must take clear stance on free trade and climate protection

The US cannot take an isolated Position. We need more than just minimal Consensus.

"The G7 leaders must take a clear stance on free trade and climate protection. Industry needs more than minimal consensus," said Federation of German Industries (BDI) President Dieter Kempf on Thursday in Berlin ahead of the G7 Summit in Sicily. "No country is an island. The US cannot take an isolated position on issues like climate protection and free trade."  

The G7 states must fully commit to climate protection and the implementation of the Paris Agreement already ratified by around 150 countries. Kempf continued: "The G20 states must jointly introduce carbon price signals in a step by step process. We need an ambitious timeline for the global phase-out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies."  

Kempf called on the US to commit to free trade at the summit: "A turnaround from free trade towards isolation is not an option. Global trade is not a zero-sum game in which one player wins and the other loses." Washington should accept this fact. "We all stand to win if we work together. If we work against each other, prosperity, jobs and progress will decline all over the world." In Germany, exports and imports account for 84 percent of GDP, the BDI president continued. "Every fourth job in Germany depends on exports, in industry it's more than every second job."  

Kempf urged the G7 states to close ranks in Sicily. "The G7 leaders must seize this opportunity to create momentum for the upcoming G20 summit in Hamburg."