OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria said international institutions like the WTO, those of the United Nations, OECD and the Bretton Woods Institutions (IMF and World Bank) were built on the idea that "multilateralism is the way to go".
"But when the country that was the central column of that process casts doubt as to whether that was the better way to go, then everybody starts looking around… Well so what do we do now? And that's what is going on now," Gurria said at a Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) event in New Delhi.
Gurria said the OECD was built around the principles of free trade and investment, but the growing cry for protectionism coming from the US is shocking, Since assuming power, Trump has vowed to push protectionist measures like ending free trade agreements and going back on international commitments.
"Those set of values and the beliefs around which we built the world today continue to be valid, continue to be worthy of pursuit and continue to be there as an aspirational goal. So let's not just let go, let's be on the course," Gurria told reporters.
Besides speaking against protectionism, Gurria batted for an upgradation of India's sovereign credit rating. PTI quoted him as saying, "Global rating agencies had become overtly cautious and conservative in not revising India’s rating for last 14 years. I believe India deserves a better rating."
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