Globalisation not 'unalloyed good', says Joseph Biden

DAVOS: Observing that globalisation has not been an "unalloyed good", US Vice President Joseph Biden today said it has deepened the rift between those racing ahead at the top and those falling to the bottom but "impulses to hunker down" will be the wrong answer.

Biden, whose term as Vice President ends in two days, emphasised that "we cannot undo the changes that technology has wrought in our world, nor should we try".

Speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting here, he said economic stresses that are leading to the hollowing out of the middle class and the social disruptions caused by technological change have to be addressed.

Noting that unskilled workers are losing their jobs and higher-paid skilled workers are getting paid more, Biden said, "Globalisation has not been an unalloyed good".

"It has deepened the rift between those racing ahead at the top and those hanging on in the middle or falling to the bottom... We cannot undo the changes that technology has wrought in our world, nor should we try," he said.

With just days to go before Donald Trump takes over as US President, Biden rejected the politics of fear, saying "impulses to hunker down, to build walls, are precisely the wrong answer".

"There will be a new president in the US, but the challenges and choices we make as an international community do not hinge exclusively on Washington's leadership. Whether we reinforce the ties that bind us or they unravel, these choices will be made by every single nation," he noted.

According to him, action must be taken to mitigate the economic trends that are stoking unrest in so many advanced economies and undermining people's basic sense of dignity.

The US Vice President also said the US and Europe should continue to work together to defend the liberal international order that has brought stability and peace in Europe since the end of World War II.

"History has proven that the defence of free nations in Europe has always been America's fight," he added.

Emphasising that transatlantic alliance is of utmost importance, Biden said the American commitment to NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) is thoroughly bipartisan in the support it has in Washington. NATO is the "single greatest bulwark of our transatlantic partnership", he noted.