BRUSSELS, March 12 (Reuters) - The United States should view the European Union as a partner in the fight against manufacturing overcapacity rather than a cause of the problem, the European Commission said on Thursday after the U.S. administration launched investigations into unfair trade practices of the bloc and 15 other trading partners.
A Commission spokesperson said the EU shares the United States' concern regarding structural overcapacity in the global economy, but that the sources of such overcapacity do not lie in Europe.
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"The EU is a market-driven economy with open markets and transparent policies. As such, the EU does not consider itself a contributor to structural excess capacity, but rather a partner in addressing global distortions," the spokesperson said.
(Reporting by Inti Landauro and Philip Blenkinsop;Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)