Stefano Scarpetta, a high-profile Italian economist known for his expertise in labor market, social policy and global economics who has been director of the Employment, Labour and Social Affairs (ELS) Department at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) since 2013, believes that the new taxes announced by the Trump administration could have consequences on the prices of certain goods and services.
In an interview with CaleaEuropeană.ro, on the occasion of the conference entitled “Improving the quality of employment through skills development and global collaboration: a challenge for Italian companies in Romania – experiences and good practices in the light of OECD standards” organized by the Italian Embassy in Bucharest and the Ministry of Labor, Family, Youth and Social Solidarity, he stressed that a “trade war or, to some extent, an escalation of tariffs” is not beneficial for either side.
”We still need to process exactly what is the extent of the severity of the measures (n.r. announced) and it is also it will be very important to see whether there will be a reaction in the countries potentially affected by these tariffs. Certainly, I think from the work we’ve done at OECD, the trade war or, to some extent, an escalation of tariffs will not be good for GDP nor employment. In particular, will affect some sectors, those most impacted by the tariffs themselves, but also potential on the vulnerable groups, because this might also lead to increasing prices of a number of product and services. I think we still have to see how the diplomacy and the negotiations will go and hopefully avoid the introduction, but among particular, the persistence of these tariffs in different countries. They have a negative effect not only for European countries, but I think across the globe, even potentially for the OECD itself”, Scarpetta responded to a question asked by CaleaEuropeană.ro on the impact of the tariffs unveiled by the US administration on the day described by Donald Trump as ”Liberation Day”.
Asked about the OECD’s position in facilitating dialogue between Americans and Europeans, Stefano Scarpetta gave assurances that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development “is a safe place”.
”The United States is a founding country of the OECD, it’s actually a country that inspired its predecessor, the Organization for European Economic Cooperation. This was basically the organization that implemented the Marshall Plan, which was which was the big plan from the United States to help the reconstruction of Europe. So you see how strong the ties are between the US, the OECD and European countries. I think the OECD is still a very safe place for an open and transparent dialog and we have so many areas of cooperation between European countries, the US and many other countries that are members of the OECD. The OECD is made up of 38 countries that strongly believe that there is still place for constructive dialogue with all countries, including the US”, the Director of the Employment, Labour and Social Affairs (ELS) Directorate of the OECD since 2013, a renowned Italian economist known for his expertise in the fields of labour market, social policies and global economics, has shown his conviction.
Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he will impose “reciprocal tariffs” of at least 10% on all imports entering the United States and higher specific tariffs on some of the biggest trading partners of the world’s largest economy, including the European Union, which is facing tariffs of 20%.
The financial market has already reacted to the announcement of these protectionist measures, with stock markets falling and the US dollar losing ground against the euro in a trade war that looks set to intensify, with companies and citizens the main losers.
The European Union, through European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and the European Parliament, through its International Trade Committee, have sharply criticized the decisions, announcing that countermeasures are pending if the negotiations for an agreement do not bear fruit.
Some member states have already braced for the impact. Spain has revealed it will implement a €14.1bn support package, while Romania’s government has announced measures to protect Romanian companies in all industries affected by the effects of the US-EU trade war.
