Merkel is going to look rather small next to Trump.
In numerous ways...
Boo.Hoo. We have been stupid in dealing with a country that has cost us dearly in the past. We have no obligation to make Germans happy, an impossibility.
Every U.S. military installation in Germany should be shut down after 73 years of the U.S. babysitting them. Let the troublemakers defend themselves.
BINGO!!
Our trade deficits are astronomical so trade is not level playing field and our manufacturing base is being obliterated by off shoring and and American companies being driven out of business by competition from dirt cheap foreign competition
Trumps goals are not tit for tat trade retaliation and begger thy neighbor policies, Trump is simply trying to reverse the trend of America's steady decline into de industrialization
Mention of Macron urging a “hard line”. The article is correct in pointing out that Germany has far more invested and to lose in a trade “war”. But besides that it’s possible Macron, having spent more time with Trump, realizes that the latter’s intention is to make a deal, and so opening with a tough position so the deal ends up being somewhere in the middle and reasonable to both sides is actually how a successful business deal is done. A hard headed Teutonic career EU drone like Herr Altmaier may not be used to being told “Nein” and can’t see it’s a process.
No such thing as an innocent German.
If this were a poker table...then you’d have Germany on one side, and 27 other European countries on the other...betting on them to lose (enjoying as well).
The solution here would be real simple...the EU stands up and goes back to the table with the US and talks over TTIP (dumped in the fall 2016). But I don’t think the bulk of them are encouraged to do so...wanting Germany to suffer a bit before talking.
I’ll bet on numbers looking less rosey for the Germans by the end of the year, and as BREXIT comes around...they will have to come to the table and work up some EU enthusiasm to talk TTIP.