Exposed and dependent: Germany desperate to avoid trade warReuters, May 4, 2018, Paul Carrel, Michael Nienaber
BERLIN (Reuters) - As Europe’s biggest exporter to the United States and with more than 1 million German jobs at stake, Germany is desperate to avoid a European Union trade war with the United States.
In the run-up to a June 1 deadline for U.S. President Donald Trump to impose steel and aluminum tariffs on the EU, Berlin is urging its European partners to show some flexibility and pursue a broad trade deal that benefits both sides.
But that puts Germany at odds with European peers such as France. Paris, the other half of the motor driving European integration, resents Germany’s big trade surplus and wants a tougher EU stance against the U.S. tariffs.
***
Berlin is pushing the idea of an agreement to lower tariffs across a broad spectrum of products, especially in manufacturing.
More:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-usa-trade-analysis/exposed-and-dependent-germany-desperate-to-avoid-trade-war-idUSKBN1I51WS