Brussels, June 26 (Xinhua) -- European Union countries faced a 10 percent increase in barriers to trade and investment globally last year, the European Commission said on Tuesday。
According to the 2016 Trade and Investment Barriers Report released by the European Commission on the same day, as of the end of last year, EU companies faced a total of 372 trade and investment barriers worldwide, of which 36 were added in 2016, affecting exports of 27 billion euros。
Eu Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom told a news conference that the report confirmed that protectionism was on the rise globally, which was hurting EU companies and workers。
Ms Malmstrom said the EU would call for resistance to protectionism at the upcoming G20 summit。
The European Commission's annual Barriers to Trade and Investment Report, launched in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, sets out the positive progress the EU has made in removing barriers to trade and investment in key partners and identifies remaining issues。