Merkel backs Mexico on NAFTA talks with US

Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday backed Mexico to press for a successful renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement with Donald Trump, thanking its government for keeping German interests in mind during the talks.

Germany and Mexico have pursued policies tailored toward exporting manufactured goods, and both ran trade surpluses of more than $60 billion with the United States last year.

Many of the biggest names in German manufacturing have factories in both Mexico and the United States, including car-makers such as Volkswagen, BMW and Daimler.

However, tension over trade has surfaced under US President Trump and his “America First” policy.

Claiming that their gains have come at the expense of US manufacturers, Trump has repeatedly attacked Germany and Mexico over their trade surpluses. And he has vowed to withdraw from NAFTA if he cannot renegotiate it in favor of the United States.

Speaking on a visit to Mexico just a few weeks after her foreign minister visited the country and backed its pro-NAFTA stance, Merkel said she was pleased the deal’s signatories, the United States, Mexico and Canada, were talking about an update.

“I hope these talks are a big success,” she said at a news conference alongside President Enrique Pena Nieto in Mexico City. “And I’d like to offer thanks that the interests of German companies are also being taken into consideration.”

Mexico and Germany reject Trump’s hostility to NAFTA and say flourishing trade has brought benefits to all.

SS