2 hrs ago
Luxembourg’s Bettel Calls Tariff Wars Lose-Lose, Urges Cooperation
Xavier Bettel is Luxembourg’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister.
He visited India and met India’s External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar.
The two countries want to work together on finance, technology, space, logistics, and education.
Bettel said taxes placed on imported goods, called tariffs, usually make shopping more expensive.
He said middle-class and poorer families often feel these costs most.
On the war in Ukraine, he said Russia is the aggressor and that the fighting should end.
He said migration can help countries but should be managed with clear rules.
He also warned that artificial intelligence may change many jobs and needs sensible laws.
Bettel said trust and human contact remain important even as technology advances.
Luxembourg Deputy Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said tariff wars raise consumer prices and damage jobs and economies.
India and Luxembourg are expanding cooperation in AI, logistics, finance, satellites, space, and education.
Bettel said India-EU trade ties should connect companies with new business opportunities in both markets.
He called Russia the aggressor in the Ukraine war and urged continued efforts to end the conflict.
Bettel supported regulated migration and warned that weak responses to public concerns can strengthen populist parties.
- Who
- Xavier Bettel, Luxembourg’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, and Indian officials including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
- What
- Bettel discussed India-Luxembourg relations, trade, tariffs, the Russia-Ukraine war, migration, fintech, and artificial intelligence.
- Where
- India, in the context of bilateral talks between India and Luxembourg.
- When
- During Bettel’s three-day official visit to India, with talks held on Monday; the interview also referenced the upcoming BRICS summit.
- Why
- The discussions focused on strengthening bilateral cooperation and addressing international issues affecting trade, security, migration, and technology.
Bettel’s Concerns
Competing Positions and Pressures
Tariffs and trade
Bettel’s Concerns
Bettel said escalating tariffs hurt consumers, destroy jobs, damage economies, and especially burden middle-class and less fortunate people.
Competing Positions and Pressures
Protectionist approaches treat tariffs as tools for shielding domestic economies, a tendency Bettel said has grown in recent years.
Migration policy
Bettel’s Concerns
Bettel said countries need migration but also functioning borders, regulated systems, and the return of people who are not allowed to stay.
Competing Positions and Pressures
Anti-immigration parties and voters emphasize insecurity, housing, jobs, uncertainty, and perceived injustice; Bettel said these concerns should be answered rather than dismissed.
Russia and energy
Bettel’s Concerns
Bettel said Russia is the aggressor in Ukraine and that, where alternatives exist, countries should prefer energy sources that do not finance Russia’s defense industry.
Competing Positions and Pressures
Bettel acknowledged that India and Russia have historical ties and shared interests, and that alternatives to Russian energy are necessary before replacing it.
Key facts
- Visitor
- Xavier Bettel, Luxembourg’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister
- Indian counterpart
- External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar
- Cooperation areas
- AI, logistics, finance, satellites, space, education, and fintech
- Tariff view
- Bettel described tariff wars as a lose-lose situation that makes goods more expensive for consumers.
- Ukraine position
- Bettel said Russia is the aggressor and urged efforts to end the war.
- Migration position
- He said migration is needed but should be regulated through functioning borders and mechanisms.
- AI concern
- Bettel said AI could have a major impact on jobs and called for a legal framework.
Quotes
Xavier Bettel
Luxembourg’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister
“I think tariff wars, at the end of the day, are a lose-lose situation. There is no winner because someone needs to pay the tariff, and so you just make it more expensive for the consumer, and especially you know when you see this escalation — you do 50, we do 50, you do 60, we do 60.”
indianexpress.com
“That we won’t rewrite history. So there is one aggressor that is Russia, that is a fact. We can’t, we won’t change history.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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