EU to Trump: Trade barriers, building walls ‘doomed to fail’

FILE - In this Monday, Jan. 23, 2017, file photo, President Donald Trump signs an executive order to withdraw the U.S. from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact agreed to under the Obama administration in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. With his rejection of an Asian trade pact, Trump has started tackling policy changes that could inadvertently give China room to assert itself as a regional leader and worsen strains over the South China Sea and Taiwan. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File) FILE - In this Monday, Jan. 23, 2017, file photo, President Donald Trump signs an executive order to withdraw the U.S. from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact agreed to under the Obama administration in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. With his rejection of an Asian trade pact, Trump has started tackling policy changes that could inadvertently give China room to assert itself as a regional leader and worsen strains over the South China Sea and Taiwan. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

By Associated Press January 24, 2017 1 min read

BRUSSELS (AP) – The European Union trade chief says the trade policies U.S. President Trump has set out are “doomed to fail” and that the world’s biggest trading bloc remains committed to open borders and economies.

EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said Tuesday that most countries still share the same vision of open trade and investments.

She said that “building a wall is not the answer. The success of the EU relies on our open societies.”

Malmstrom said “those who in the 21st century think that we can become great again by rebuilding borders, re-imposing trade barriers, restricting people’s freedom to move, they are doomed to fail.”

Trump’s decision to pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership on Monday was seen as an indicator to a more closed U.S. trade policy.