Germany Concerned Over Lack of US Commitment to Free Trade

© REUTERS / Tiksa NegeriGerman Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel (File)
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel (File) - Sputnik International
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The German Foreign Ministry is concerned over the lack of Washington's adherence to open markets and bilateral free trade, Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said Wednesday.

BERLIN (Sputnik) — The German diplomat however praised the interest of Trump's administration in the unified and strong Europe and US commitment to the transatlantic partnership within NATO, which had been expressed during the bilateral talks with the German authorities.

"We are concerned by the fact that Washington, as it happened recently at the meeting of the G7 finance ministers, has not stated its adherence to free trade," the Foreign Ministry's statement quoted Gabriel as saying.

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"The open markets and fair multilateral trade systems are beneficial for everyone. The German industry in the United States is not just a rival. We create hundreds of thousands of jobs and education possibilities in the United States through investments and innovations," Gabriel stressed.

Gabriel's statement came after the White House's April's orders to examine US trade deficits, which had been characterized by Germany's Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries as the United States' move "away from free trade and trade agreements."

According to media reports, citing Germany's Federal Statistics Office, the US trade deficit with Germany nearly doubled in the previous decade from 28.8 billion euros ($32 billion) in 2006 to 49 billion euros in 2016.

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