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American billionaire Elon Musk, recently appointed by Donald Trump to head the Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE), unexpectedly spoke out against the US president’s aggressive trade policy. Musk called for the abolition of customs barriers and the creation of a free trade area between Europe and North America. This was reported by Fox News.
“Europe and the United States should move to zero tariffs by creating an effective free trade area. There should also be more freedom of movement for people – if someone wants to work in Europe or America, they should be allowed to do so,” Musk said during a video call with participants in the congress of the right-wing Italian party Lega in Florence, Reuters reports.
His statement came amid Donald Trump’s plans to impose 20 per cent duties on imports from Italy and other EU countries that have a trade surplus with the US.
To support his arguments, Elon Musk shared a video with renowned economist Milton Friedman on social media platform X. In the video, Friedman uses the example of a simple pencil to demonstrate how thousands of people from all over the world collaborate to create a single product. This, he says, is the “magic of the price system” and the market economy.
“It is the free market that not only promotes efficient production, but also ensures harmony and peace between the nations of the world,” Musk quoted Friedman as saying.
Musk’s statement stands in stark contrast to Trump’s protectionist intentions and could be a catalyst for a new political debate in the US about the future of global trade.
