Trump hosts Germany's Merz at White House to discuss Ukraine and tariffs
President Donald Trump hosted Germany's new leader Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House on Thursday, to discuss Ukraine and defence spending, as well as tariffs.
Mr Merz, whose visit is partially aimed at convincing the US to continue supporting Kyiv, said Mr Trump would be a vital figure in bringing an end to the conflict.
'We both agree on this war and how terrible this war that is going on, and we are both looking for ways to stop it very soon,' Mr Merz said. 'And I told the President before we came in that he is the key person in the world who can really do that now by putting pressure on Russia.'
The US President called Mr Merz a 'very good man to deal with'.
The visit comes a day after Mr Trump held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which he said there would be no 'immediate peace' in the three-year-old war. It was a stark turnaround for the US President, who took office this year on a promise to swiftly end the war in Ukraine.
He said that Mr Putin has vowed to retaliate after Kyiv unleashed a surprise drone offensive that hit Russian airfields across the country, taking out many heavy bombers and surveillance planes.
Mr Trump is set to attend the Nato summit later this month, a meeting that is expected to be dominated by the war in Ukraine. The meetings will come shortly after Mr Trump is scheduled to attend the Group of Seven leaders' summit in Canada, where allies are also expected to discuss ways to end the conflict.
Germany, the biggest economy in the EU, is eager to ease trade tension with the US after Mr Trump announced sweeping tariffs on the bloc on April 2. A 50 per cent levy on European goods is scheduled to take effect on July 9.
'We'll have a big trade deal,' Mr Trump said. 'I guess that will be mostly determined by the European Union, but you're a very big part of that.'
During the meeting, Mr Trump also said the two leaders would discuss the roughly 45,000 US troops stationed in Germany.
'We have a lot of them, about 45,000, it's a lot of troops,' Mr Trump said. 'That's good economic development, they're highly paid troops and they spend a lot of money in Germany.'
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During a roundtable with the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) in Washington D.C, Ted Osius, President and CEO of USABC, expressed strong support for Vietnam's agricultural development:"Rapid changes in U.S. tariff policies have created a challenging trade environment. We're encouraged that Vietnam is considering increasing imports of agricultural goods to help reduce its trade deficit with the U.S. USABC and its member companies remain committed to supporting the growth of Vietnam's food and agriculture sector". In response to the USABC President, Minister Duy reaffirmed the Vietnam government's strong commitment to continuing institutional reforms, improving administrative efficiency, upgrading infrastructure, and creating the most favorable environment for international businesses, including U.S. enterprises, to expand trade and investment with Vietnam in a long-term and effective manner. During the meeting with Minister Duy, the Chairs of the Agriculture Committees of both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives expressed enthusiasm and optimism about the remarkable outcomes of the Vietnamese delegation's visit to Iowa, Ohio, and Washington, D.C. Senator John Boozman was particularly impressed by Vietnam's robust economic growth and the strong potential for long-term cooperation between the two countries. He highlighted Vietnam's role as a dynamic and reliable economic partner in the Asia-Pacific region. The Senator expressed support for efforts to achieve a fair tariff agreement and pledged to fully convey Vietnam's recommendations to relevant US authorities. Representative Glenn Thompson showed special interest in the high-value deals for US agricultural commodities secured during the Minister's visit. 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