The Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, expressed his conviction that there is a “window of opportunity” for a mutually beneficial settlement between the US and Europe on tariffs, in the context of the 10th Delphi Economic Forum, which is being held from 9 to 12 April
Prime Minister expressed his satisfaction with the “freeze” on tariffs that Donald Trump has made, saying that “we will use the window of opportunity to have a frank discussion on the tariff regime between the US and Europe”. He said he was cautiously optimistic as – as he said – there was “room for manoeuvre and a mutual recognition that a global trade war will have implications for all countries, including the US”.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in a discussion with Robert D. Kaplan, Robert Strausz – Hupé Chair in Geopolitics at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, addressed a wide range of issues, ranging from Trump’s tariff policy and Greek-American relations to Greece’s place in the current context in terms of its geopolitical dimension.
The discussion was introduced by Simeon Tsomokos, Founder and President of the Delphi Economic Forum.
Robert Kaplan, at the beginning of the discussion, set the tone of the times, saying that “it is a cliché to declare that we are living in historic times”, as “in a few days what would have happened in decades can happen in a few days”. After stressing that “Greece is a country at the centre of everything”, he questioned whether we have reached the end of globalisation and posed a series of key questions to the Prime Minister about the country’s position.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis noted that our times are full of challenges, and then noted that Greece is a member country of the EU and NATO, “a proud country”, which is shaping strategies. As he pointed out, “we are at the crossroads of a new reorganisation and we are trying to adapt to the new environment”.
Asked to comment on the way US President Donald Trump is governing, the Prime Minister said that “every European leader wears two ‘hats’ when negotiating with America”. So he himself wears the European “hat” on trade issues, while on security issues he wears the national one. He also said that he had had a “good and constructive relationship” with the US President since his first term in office and that now that he is starting a new one, “we will maintain the good relationship”. He added that it is not his job to question the choices of American voters, but to further build the relationship between the two countries, which has strategic depth. “Greece matters to the US in many ways, from energy to immigration management,” he added.
He also stressed that “it is premature to talk about the end of globalisation”, as “it is difficult to dismantle what has been built over decades – not everything is overturned overnight”. He noted that “we have every reason to protect the rules of international order and trade”, adding that Greece has made progress.
From there, Kyriakos Mitsotakis focused on the need to further attract investment, noting that “at the beginning of the crisis we had an investment gap, capital was destroyed – today we are at 16% of GDP and the goal is to reach 20%”. As he noted, “investment in Greece is no longer just about tourism. We have also attracted investment in Technology – the technology sector is evolving rapidly”.
He also placed particular emphasis on agricultural production: “Greece produces excellent products. It makes no sense for the US to impose tariffs on products such as olive oil, which it does not produce itself. He said that Greece is now exporting energy as well, and described as a positive development the fact that “borrowing costs are lower and unemployment is steadily falling”.
