VitalAccurateThinking

Finance leaders pledge to resist protectionism | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

At least the finance ministers of the G7 are pledging to resist protectionism:

"Finance officials from the world's wealthiest countries expressed confidence Friday that the global economy will experience strong growth despite risks.

'Although risks remain, the global economy is having its strongest sustained expansion in more than 30 years and is becoming more balanced,' the finance ministers and central bank presidents said in a joint statement.

The officials from the world's seven leading industrial countries — the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada — projected confidence that various troubles such as soaring trade deficits, jittery financial markets and a slumping housing market in the United States will not be enough to derail growth.

The G-7 finance officials pledged to resist growing protectionist pressures in their countries, a movement being spawned by soaring trade imbalances such as the fifth consecutive year of a record trade gap in the United States."

Of course the significance of the trade gap is quite fictional. It is nice to see that there is some rhetoric to resisting the urge to implement damaging protectionist measures. We'll see if they can stick to it.

posted by Jim VAT @ 7:22 PM