Trade driving US-EU relationship: former envoy to Germany

The relationship between the U.S. and the European Union has shifted from one that primarily focused on political and military issues to one centered around trade and economic concerns, according to former U.S. Ambassador to Germany Robert Kimmitt.

President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel met at the White House on Friday as the deadline loomed for the U.S. to extend a waiver exempting the EU from steel and aluminum tariffs announced in February. The meeting came just two days after French President Emmanuel Macron failed to sway the president.

“Merkel nor the president didn’t want to preview what might happen next Tuesday,” Kimmitt told FOX Business’ Liz Claman during an interview on Friday. “But the president had a chance to hear directly from Europe’s two most powerful leaders, to take that into account.”

Trump has repeatedly said he wants to level the U.S. trade deficit with the EU. In 2017, the deficit was more than $64 billion. Germany is one of the biggest exporters to the U.S., selling cars, pharmaceuticals and auto parts. Its companies employ more than 800,000 Americans.

The EU will be hit with the tariffs on May 1 unless Trump changes his mind at the last minute, according to Reuters, citing a senior government official. To prepare for the tariffs, the European trading bloc drafted a list of retaliatory countermeasures against U.S. products, including jeans, motorcycles and bourbon.

Merkel said “the decision lies with the president” when asked Friday about the negotiation process.  “Germany has taken some steps last year to reduce the trade deficit,” Kimmitt said. “But much more has to be done. Hard to predict what’s going to happen Tuesday.”