Germany worried U.S. could start trade war with Europe - Gabriel

[webfact]

Germany worried U.S. could start trade war with Europe - Gabriel

 

Activists carry a banner reading "The war starts here" as they arrive at Hamburg Hauptbahnhof central railway station during the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

 

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany is concerned that U.S. President Donald Trump could start a trade war with Europe, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Thursday ahead of a G20 summit in the port city of Hamburg.

 

"There are things that cause great concern that the United States start a trade war with Europe," Gabriel told Deutschlandfunk radio without elaborating. He added Berlin would continue to seek through dialogue a situation in which Germany and the U.S. could act together.

 

Having returned from a multi-day trip to the Gulf region, Gabriel also said that there was currently no risk of a military escalation in the Qatar crisis and that there was progress.

 

(Reporting by Christian Rüttger; Writing by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Maria Sheahan)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-07-06

[pgrahmm]

Well, let them put their newly acquired immigrant population to work......Cue the laughter (sadly) while Germany falls under the weight of them....

 

Two countries going in two different directions & the minor leaguers are worried.....

[Grubster]

If Germany doesn't put tariffs on US goods then they have a legitimate complaint. Otherwise no.

[ilostmypassword]

3 hours ago, pgrahmm said:

Well, let them put their newly acquired immigrant population to work......Cue the laughter (sadly) while Germany falls under the weight of them....

 

Two countries going in two different directions & the minor leaguers are worried.....

The poor struggling weak German economy? As for laughter, maybe we should direct it at those who think a country with a population of more than 80 million is going to fall under the weight of their immigrants. Germany actually had budget surpluses in 2016 and 2017.

[pgrahmm]

8 minutes ago, ilostmypassword said:

The poor struggling weak German economy? As for laughter, maybe we should direct it at those who think a country with a population of more than 80 million is going to fall under the weight of their immigrants. Germany actually had budget surpluses in 2016 and 2017.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/04/15/if-sweden-and-germany-became-u-s-states-would-they-be-among-the-poorest-states/?utm_term=.6c22af746568

[ilostmypassword]

3 minutes ago, pgrahmm said:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/04/15/if-sweden-and-germany-became-u-s-states-would-they-be-among-the-poorest-states/?utm_term=.6c22af746568

That has been extensively debunked. Just look at the life expectancy and educational attainment levels in Sweden and Germany compared to the USA. And of course, if you pay twice as much for medical care in the USA as you do in Sweden, and get worse results, is that a good thing? Or in the fact that widespread public transport in those European nations  means you don't have to buy a car to get to work.  The fact is that the middle class int the USA is being hollowed out and it's not being hollowed out in Germany and Sweden.

Anyway, this economist comes from the Mises Institute which has been getting it wrong for many decades.

[Caps]

6 hours ago, pgrahmm said:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/04/15/if-sweden-and-germany-became-u-s-states-would-they-be-among-the-poorest-states/?utm_term=.6c22af746568

But thankfully they are not US states so the facts are quite irrelevant 

[Khun Han]

Huh??? According to the German trade delegation that tagged along to Merkel's White House visit (and ThaiVisaForum's remainers), the EU is at the front of the queue for a trade deal with the USA. Now it's at the front of the queue for a trade war? Who should we believe? Sigmar Gabriel? Anonymous German trade delegates? ThaiVisaForum's Sandyf ?

Edited July 6, 2017 by Khun Han

[observer90210]

The newly arrived immigrants in Germany are being trained and are learning different trades and acquiring manual job expertise, fast.

Ultimately they will substantially contribute to the enrichment of German economy..

 

What is and will plumet German economy would come from the fact that it is the first and main contributor to the European Union Mafia Central Bank and German taxpayers are paying for bailing out the outstanding economic disasters of it's european counterparts.

 

The Donald and his gimmicks are insignificant in the global picture.

Edited July 6, 2017 by observer90210

[ilostmypassword]

2 hours ago, observer90210 said:

The newly arrived immigrants in Germany are being trained and are learning different trades and acquiring manual job expertise, fast.

Ultimately they will substantially contribute to the enrichment of German economy..

 

What is and will plumet German economy would come from the fact that it is the first and main contributor to the European Union Mafia Central Bank and German taxpayers are paying for bailing out the outstanding economic disasters of it's european counterparts.

 

The Donald and his gimmicks are insignificant in the global picture.

Actually, it's a small price to pay for keeping the euro low and thus German exports high.

[Thaidream]

No comparison on Germany and Sweden. As an American, I wish we had some of the benefits these countries had in the way of social services.  In America an inordinate amount of money goes to the military and 17 intelligence agencies. America is the only industriazed country without universal healthcare. In German- the government paus for training in the trades while in America the trades are ignored.

 

As far as Trum goes- he wants to get a balance on trade with various countries and German is a target. There are plenty of others.  Trump actually has a good point on this but how he negotiates will be the stickier issue.  No country is going to be dictate to. There always has to be some quid pro quo.  As much as I have criticized Trump- this visit will be a test to determine if he has finally learned how to negotiate with the top leaders of the World.  He had best learn- he's not negotiating a business deal in New York. The people he deals with at the G20 are experts in real politics and they are there to support the interests of their own countries. 

[Jonnapat]

I'm happy that Germany doesn't look at immigrants with the same nationalistic attitude of the US and the UK.

These people will contribute significantly in years to come.

More open mindedness is needed.

 

[dunroaming]

What I find most worrying about this article is the word "war" (as in trade war).  If Trump reads the word "war" he will be salivating and getting over excited.

 

Germany continues to be the most influential country in Europe and under Merkel I imagine it will just get stronger.  No need for her to "make Germany great again" because they are fine as they are. 

[dunroaming]

I think this G20 summit is an opportunity for Trump to get real and backtrack on his previous positions.  If he really wants to be seen as a world leader then that means working with the rest of the world. It is a chance for Trump to prove everyone wrong and actually step up to the plate.  Will he do it?  I won't hold my breath!

[Baerboxer]

9 hours ago, ilostmypassword said:

Actually, it's a small price to pay for keeping the euro low and thus German exports high.

 

Yes, the Euro must be managed to favor Germany.

[Dumbastheycome]

Is  there  any  plan  to  solve  the  overall continuing issue?  The  unemployed  have  tapped  out  the   max  credit  they   cannot  repay  already so  productivity  is  aimless  in  expectation   despite  the   BS . 

One  side  contrives  the  collapse  of  the  other  in the  vain  hope  it   ensures and  retains  monetary   superiority. That  is  on behalf  of  a   select   minority.

It  will  fail  as  in  current  strategy other than  to lead  to  massive  destruction  of   almost  all things as  a global  society.

There  is  conflict  on the  horizon   which  will  result   in grey  skies.

[IAMHERE]

On 7/6/2017 at 5:11 PM, Grubster said:

If Germany doesn't put tariffs on US goods then they have a legitimate complaint. Otherwise no.

Germany has a trade surplus of over 60 billion dollars last year; fair trade should be America's goal. They want to put tariffs on USA goods then let them as long as America can place the same tariffs on German goods.

[The Dark Lord]

Good news for the UK then as we are leaving that poisoned enclave

[ilostmypassword]

2 hours ago, IAMHERE said:

Germany has a trade surplus of over 60 billion dollars last year; fair trade should be America's goal. They want to put tariffs on USA goods then let them as long as America can place the same tariffs on German goods.

The threat of tariffs being imposed is coming from America. Germany is talking about potential retaliation in response to that.

[mrwebb8825]

On 7/6/2017 at 5:55 PM, ilostmypassword said:

The poor struggling weak German economy? As for laughter, maybe we should direct it at those who think a country with a population of more than 80 million is going to fall under the weight of their immigrants. Germany actually had budget surpluses in 2016 and 2017.

They had those surpluses because they refuse to live up to their end of the NATO agreement on military spending.

I really hope President Trump cuts a few side deals while there with the countries that ARE paying their fair share. Wouldn't mind if he reworded article 5 to say that an attack on any fully complying NATO partner is an attack on all fully compliant NATO partners. 

[ilostmypassword]

1 hour ago, mrwebb8825 said:

They had those surpluses because they refuse to live up to their end of the NATO agreement on military spending.

I really hope President Trump cuts a few side deals while there with the countries that ARE paying their fair share. Wouldn't mind if he reworded article 5 to say that an attack on any fully complying NATO partner is an attack on all fully compliant NATO partners. 

"They had those surpluses because they refuse to live up to their end of the NATO agreement on military spending."

If Germany had contributed 2 percent of its gdp in 2016 it budget would have broken virtually even. Disaster! And that's not accounting for the fact that Americans include veteran's care in the defense budget. If Germany did that, it would still have had a surplus even if it spent 2% of GDP for its armed forces.

"I really hope President Trump cuts a few side deals while there with the countries that ARE paying their fair share. Wouldn't mind if he reworded article 5 to say that an attack on any fully complying NATO partner is an attack on all fully compliant NATO partners. "

I really hope Trump still doesn't believe, as he used to, that he can cut a few side deals with EU countries. If you're an EU nation, EU you can't negotiate bilateral foreign trade deals. 

[the guest]

The US has more to lose, so I would suggest that they don't want a fight with the EU.

[mrwebb8825]

11 hours ago, ilostmypassword said:

I really hope Trump still doesn't believe, as he used to, that he can cut a few side deals with EU countries. If you're an EU nation, EU you can't negotiate bilateral foreign trade deals. 

Germany's worried because 2 or 3 more exits from the EU and they'll lose their control. If being part of the EU means you absolutely can NOT do anything to better your own country then it neither makes sense for each member to have a leader nor for these countries to stay in a dictatorship that doesn't have their best interests at heart.

Afterall, isn't that exactly what WWII was fought for? So Germany couldn't control Europe?

[ilostmypassword]

1 hour ago, mrwebb8825 said:

Germany's worried because 2 or 3 more exits from the EU and they'll lose their control. If being part of the EU means you absolutely can NOT do anything to better your own country then it neither makes sense for each member to have a leader nor for these countries to stay in a dictatorship that doesn't have their best interests at heart.

Afterall, isn't that exactly what WWII was fought for? So Germany couldn't control Europe?

And how does being a member of the EU mean that you can't do anything to better your own country?  And how exactly does Germany control the EU? As you may recall, recently one province in Belgium nearly put an end to a treaty negotiated with Canada. One province stood up to mighty Germany! And of course the several German panzer divisions crossed the border and laid waste to the entire province. Oh no, wait a minute. Actually that province got itself a nice little deal for acquiescing. Evil, evil Germans!