(Bloomberg) -- European Central Bank President Mario Draghi added his voice to those criticizing the U.S. tariff threat and called on governments to work together rather than end up in a tit-for-tat dispute.
“If you put tariffs against what are your allies, one wonders who the enemies are,” Draghi told a news conference in Frankfurt when asked about President Donald Trump’s plans to penalize imports. “Unilateral decisions are dangerous.”
While he downplayed the impact on the global economy, Draghi said the recent developments raise questions about the health of global relations. The past week has seen an escalation of the threat of a trade war after the U.S. announced plans for tariffs on steel and aluminium, and some of the biggest trade partners threatened retaliation.
“We are convinced that disputes should be discussed and resolved in a multilateral framework,” Draghi said. The ECB chief also wondered aloud, “what’s going to be the response of the exchange rate?”
