By Paul Tuthill
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-968218.mp3
Springfield, MA – A top German diplomat , addressing the World Affairs Council of Western Massachusetts, said countries must fight protectionism and promote free trade. He also downplayed the impact of the Greek debt crisis on the European economy as a whole. WAMC's Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill reports.
Germany's economy was booming in 2010, thanks to a surge in exports that reached the highest level since reunification in 1990. Friedrich Lohr, the German Consul General to New England says there are business opportunities for Massachusetts with Germany..
Lohr spoke about the economy at a meeting Wednesday of the World Affairs Council of Western Massachusetts, a non profit educational organization that has been headquartered in Springfield since 1927. In an interview Lohr, who stressed he was not speaking for the German government, was asked about trade opportunities between Massachusetts and Germany
The German economy grew by 3 point 6 percent in 2010, which was substantially faster than the rest of Europe. U.S. GDP grew by one point 8 percent in the first quarter of this year. The unemployment rate in Germany was 7 point 7 percent for 2010. Personal income and consumer spending are both projected to increase in Germany this year, according to Lohr.
He said the Euro will remain the common currency as a cornerstone of European integration. Lohr said the debt crisis in Greece will not destroy the Euro..
He said it would be a mistake to kick Greece out of the European Union, as some have suggested, because that was set a bad precedent for the next country that gets into an economic jam.
Lohr has been a career diplomat since 1975. He is not an economic expert. His specialty is disarmament. He was the German ambassador to North Korea for two years and got to experience some the tensions over the still unresolved nuclear impasse