German, U.S. finance ministers to meet in Berlin next week

[March 07, 2017]  BERLIN (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Tuesday he would meet his U.S. counterpart Steven Mnuchin on Thursday next week to prepare for a broader G20 meeting in Baden-Baden.

German Finance Minister German Wolfgang Schaeuble attends a news conference following a meeting at the Bercy Ministry in Paris, France, February 22, 2017. REUTERS/Charles Platiau

Speaking to foreign press correspondents in Berlin, Schaeuble rejected U.S. criticism of Germany's record-high current account surplus and criticism that the German government was exploiting a weaker euro to boost its exports.

"Nobody can claim that we are achieving these surpluses through manipulation," Schaeuble said, adding that the European Central Bank was in charge of the euro and that the central bank is independent.

He added Germany's current account surplus was a result of the high competitiveness of its companies.

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(Reporting by Michael Nienaber and Joseph Nasr; Editing by Madeline Chambers)

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