The U.S. risks losing out from its curbs on trade as rival nations including China will seek to do more business with each other, BHP Billiton Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Andrew Mackenzie warned as the head of the world’s largest miner stepped up his criticism of rising protectionism.
“There’s a lot of countries in the world that want to trade more with each other, now that it looks like the U.S. wants to trade less with them,” Mackenzie said in a Bloomberg Television interview, citing discussions with global trade ministers.
“China will absolutely look to walk in that area and look to find exports with other people,” he said after BHP reported earnings.
With its global reach and stable of products from iron ore to copper and oil, BHP is well-positioned to assess the fallout from President Donald Trump’s push for protectionism and the responses from China and the European Union.
In March, Mackenzie spoke out against metals tariffs, describing them as “bad for America and bad for the world.” In its latest outlook, the miner warned the curbs will slow global growth, boost prices and eventually prompt consumers to push back as they become aware of the “true economic costs.”
For the rest of this article: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-21/mining-giant-bhp-hits-out-at-trade-curbs-as-trump-takes-on-china