[InTime News]
Concerns are raised in the government and businesses about the effects of the new Trump tariffs on the local economy, though both the prime minister and the governor of the Bank of Greece attempted to allay fears on Thursday.
“We as a country have always been advocates of free trade and we firmly believe that this trade war will ultimately benefit no one. It will harm everyone,” said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis from Kozani, emphasizing at the same time that “Greece will play a leading role within the European Union, because that is where the decisions we will take on how we will react to this historically unprecedented decision taken by the US will be shaped.”
However, he attempted to allay worries about the impact on the national economy and Greek businesses: “In any case, I want to assure you that the Greek economy will be able to cope with these difficult challenges. And I referred to this development only to conclude how fluid the international economic and geopolitical environment is, and how important the political stability that we have today in the country and the ability of this government to be able to chart a stable course for our homeland in these extremely turbulent times is.”
Central banker Yannis Stournaras referred to the indirect consequences which will be the most significant speaking to Bloomberg: “Greece’s exports of goods and services to the US amount to approximately 4.5% of total exports, so the direct impact is not expected to be significant. Nevertheless, the Greek economy will be affected indirectly through the negative impact on the growth of the eurozone’s GDP,” said the BoG head. Stournaras, however, estimated that the downward trend in inflation will continue, and added, “I think recent developments do not constitute an obstacle to further reducing interest rates in April.”
“The effects cannot yet be captured in their entirety, although it is a given that they will be negative,” said Minister of National Economy and Finance Kyriakos Pierrakakis.