Germany warns U.S

For the close ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, top of the agenda at meetings in the US capital will be Trump’s planned tariffs of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminium. “Companies and consumers on both sides would foot the bill if the US and Europe tumble into a trade war,” Altmaier said. Altmaier allowed that “global free trade is certainly not perfect yet,” adding that if Washington is unhappy “we have to talk about it rather than acting unilaterally.” Responding to Trump’s threat to slap tariffs on German car imports if the EU retaliates over his metals levies, Altmaier added that “German cars are successful in all world markets because they’re so good.