'Robert Abela not comfortable taking a stand on US tariffs': Bernard Grech
'Government must provide peace of mind to local businesses that could be impacted by US tariffs'
Bernard Grech on Sunday expressed concern about Robert Abela's silence over the US’s raft of punishing tariffs, despite the looming uncertainty it has caused local businesses.
Interviewed on NET, the PN leader called on the government to address the uncertainty Maltese businesses and investors were experiencing.
“I understand the government's sense of uncertainty... but we cannot forget the thousands of Maltese workers who depend on transactions between Malta and America and how the tariffs will impact them,” Grech said.
“My concern is [the Prime Minister] is not comfortable speaking about the topic and will not take a position on the US tariffs,” he added.
The past weeks have been dominated by the economic uncertainty caused by the US-imposed tariffs on imports from the rest of the world.
Among others, Donald Trump announced a sweeping 20% tariff on goods imported from the EU, sending stock markets tumbling and prompting several economic experts to warn of potential catastrophic fallout across Europe.
He later scaled back duties on some countries as part of a 90-day pause while slapping even more levies against China.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, meanwhile, said the bloc will put planned tariffs on US goods on hold to “give negotiations a chance” after Trump’s U-turn.
On Friday, China said it would raise tariffs on US goods to 125 percent, further deepening the trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
Grech had already urged the government to take a strong stand over the US’s tariffs and to defend consumers.
But while some European leaders strongly reacted to news about the tariffs, the Maltese government has so far remained unnervingly silent.
“The government must ensure peace of mind for Maltese companies and investors,” Grech said on Sunday.
'Country needs to focus on quality, not quantity'
Grech also spoke about the government's plan for the next 25 years, dubbed Malta Vision 2050.
He said while the island needed long, middle and short-term plans, the government had failed to refer to the projected population increase for the coming years.
"It's good to have a destination where we want our country to end up, but we also need politicians who want to arrive there and the maturity to go in the right direction," he said,
"The government is not being honest with the people about the projected population increase, nor how it will cater for the increase through the right infrastructure," he said.
Grech said that while the government continued to announce proposals, it failed to deliver on them, such as the promised Malta-Gozo bridge, the fourth Gozo ferry, the metro and a new Gozo hospital.