Berlin hoping for further talks to avert US tariffs

Berlin (dpa) – The German government hopes that an escalation in the trade war unleashed by US President Donald Trump can still be avoided, as EU trade ministers met in Luxembourg to gauge strategies to convince Trump to reconsider his latest trade moves.

“We don’t want to start a trade war, but the aim should be to further reduce trade barriers,” German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said in Berlin on Monday.

“Secondly, we need to protect our domestic businesses from whatever comes next,” he added.

Hebestreit stressed the need to understand the effects of the tariffs announced by Trump last week, cautioning against an emotional response.

Outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been in touch with other European leaders and leading German companies after Trump said he would impose blanket tariffs of 10 percent on all imports to the United States, effective since Saturday.

Additional levies on a host of trading partners are due to take effect on Wednesday, including 20 percent tariffs on imports from the European Union.

Hebestreit did not comment on remarks made by Trump’s adviser and tech billionaire Elon Musk, who said he hoped for a trans-Atlantic free trade agreement to abolish all tariffs between Europe and the US. (April 7)