Trump presses Merkel on NATO funds
President, German chancellor show differences remain on EU, trade
President Trump and WASHINGTON German Chancellor Angela Merkel said they had productive meetings on Friday, even as they offered contrasting visions of the United States- European relationship on issues such as trade, the European Union and the NATO defense compact.
Trump told Merkel he supports a “strong NATO” but added that her country and other European nations must pay their “fair share” of the costs of the alliance.
“Many nations owe vast sums of money from past years, and it is very unfair to the United States,” Trump said in a joint news conference with Merkel after their meetings.
Merkel said Germany is increasing its NATO contributions, seeking to meet the organization’s goal of 2% of gross domestic product.
She also said there are “different assets and facets” of contributing to defense security and stressed the importance of NATO missions in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
Commenting on Trump meetings that touched on differences over trade and the European Union, Merkel said: “I’ve always said it’s much, much better to talk to one another and not about one another, and I think our conversation proved this.”
During a question- and- answer session, Merkel said she and Trump sought to address “those areas where we disagreed” and “try to find a compromise which is good for both sides.”
Trump disputed a German reporter’s suggestion that he is “an isolationist” when it comes to trade. The president said he believes in both “free trade” and “fair trade” and that current global agreements have led to job losses in the United States. The president has also expressed a preference for one- on- one agreements rather than large multinational deals like ones involving the European Union.
“The United States has been treated very, very unfairly by many countries over the years,” Trump said. “And that’s going to stop. But I’m not an isolationist.”
The chancellor arrived at the White House after months of back- and- forth with the new president, including Trump’s claims that Merkel is “ruining” Germany by letting in toomany refugees and that Germany is using the European Union as a “vehicle” for its own economic ambitions.
Merkel, meanwhile, has questioned Trump over his criticism of the EU, NATO, free- trade agreements and other multinational agreements. Before leaving for the United States, Merkel said she would be representing Europe as well as Germany in her meeting with Trump.
At the news conference with Trump, Merkel said Germany believes in “European unity and European integration,” and “I am saying it in the United States, also here in Washington inmy talks with the president.”
Trump and aides sounded more conciliatory notes ahead of a summit initially scheduled for Tuesday but postponed due to a snowstorm.
The president greeted the chancellor at the door of the West Wing on Friday after her motorcade pulled up.
In addition to a meeting in the Oval Office, Trump and Merkel hosted a roundtable with business leaders from both countries to discuss what the president called “workforce development and vocational training.”
The Friday summit between the voluble Trump and themore low-keyMerkel came amid major strains in the United States- European alliance that has prevailed for decades.
While Trump and aides have expressed support for the trans- Atlantic alliance since he took office in January, the president’s tart comments during last year’s campaign hang over his dealings with Europe, particularly Germany.
Trump has demanded that Germany and other NATO countries contribute more to the military alliance and suggested that it is “obsolete” in the face of the terrorist threat.
“I’ve always said it’s much, much better to talk to one another and not about one another ... ” Angela Merkel, German chancellor, during news conference Friday