"There can be no return to a world before globalization," they wrote. "Germans and Americans must grab the opportunity to shape globalization according to our values and ideas."
The leaders’ joint article, excerpts from which appeared in the German magazine WirtschaftsWoche ahead of its Friday publication, reaffirmed their support of the controversial EU-US free trade deal called the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
"We are stronger together … Now that the global economy is developing faster than ever and the global challenges have never been greater, this cooperation has become more important than ever before," their message was.
Fears have been that under the presidency of Donald Trump Washington could backtrack on its climate commitments and end the TTIP talks after the property tycoon vowed to put US economic interests first. He previously called global warming a Chinese hoax and blamed lost jobs on trade deals like the TTIP.
