No ambiguity on free trade - Gentiloni (2)

(ANSA) - Rome, March 31 - Premier Paolo Gentiloni said Friday the Group of Seven (G7) in Taormina in May will have to "also adopt a stance towards underlying choices that do not tolerate ambiguity: we must renew the faith in the open economy and open societies on which we have built decades of prosperity". He said "we must bet again on the free market and free trade, the greatest economic engine in history". Gentiloni was speaking at the B7 Business Summit in Rome a day after US President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on EU goods including Vespa scooters and San Pellegrino mineral water unless the EU lifts a ban on hormone-produced beef.
    Gentiloni also told the B7 that "the challenge directly concerns the action of our government which will be translated in the coming weeks through decisions that the government will take with the aim of keeping accounts OK and at the same time accompany the growth that is finally happening in Europe: accompany it, nurture it, enable it to have a faster pace and that there are no depressive effects from the decisions taken". He was referring to an EU-requested budget adjustment and the government's economic and financial blueprint, the DEF.
    photo: Gentiloni (R), with Confindustria chief Vincenzo Boccia at the B7