DP World chairman says Donald Trump’s anti-globalisation talk is just a ‘phase’

Mr Trump has talked up protectionist measures taking aim at the likes of China, sparking fears of a trade war with the world’s second-largest economy.

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the chairman of DP World, said Donald Trump is interested in fair trade, not free trade. Reuters
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The US president Donald Trump’s anti-globalisation sentiments are just a “phase” and will go away, the chairman of DP World told CNBC on Sunday.

“What Donald Trump wants is fair trade, fair trade versus free trade now,” Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem said at the World Government Summit in Dubai. “If you look at the US it is open for every product, so for America … if American products don’t get in easily to China, America will react.”

He added: “They want fair trade and nobody can object and I think these are legitimate reasons behind what you hear, but nonetheless all these anti-globalisation sentiments are going to pass away. It’s a phase.

“It’s a phase where everyone is excited. That’s what actually got Donald Trump elected, that feeling that I am losing my job and others are competing with us, unfairly and that is where we are coming from – I think everyone is going to abide by the general agreement on trade and tariffs.”

Mr Trump has talked up protectionist measures taking aim at the likes of China, sparking fears of a trade war with the world’s second-largest economy, and criticising pacts such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta). Trump has vowed to re-negotiate Nafta – a trade agreement between the US, Mexico, and Canada.

Earlier in the day, the World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab said the US elections showed the “anger of people against globalisation and against the elites that they feel have benefited.”

The anti-global sentiment was a key part of Mr Trump’s election campaign, and his short time in office has shown his willingness to talk about changing the way the US trades with the world.

DP World is no stranger to the US The company made a US$6.8 billion bid for some US ports in 2006, but the deal was derailed by politicians who said it posed a threat to national security. The DP World chairman said there was nothing stopping the company going into the US now, but there are no projects that look “viable.”

“There is already overcapacity, basically, and so we always watch the market. If we can find the right approach we can get in, we haven’t found [it] so far,” Mr bin Sulayem said.

* Video and content courtesy CNBC. The National and CNBC are content sharing partners. This story originally appeared here.

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