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In
his campaign, Trump argued that international trade agreements
had hurt U.S. workers and the country's competitiveness. He has
promised to "get tough" with China and withdraw from the
12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, which is still not
finalized.
Merkel, having last week offered to work with Trump on the basis
of democratic values, used a speech to set out the case for
strengthening international cooperation in the field of trade
and avoiding a slide into protectionism.
"We are at the moment in a situation in the European Union, in
our country and worldwide where there is an argument about how
we want to shape globalization," Merkel told a meeting of
Germany's BDA employers association.
"Globalization is happening. We can arrange it such that we
strengthen multilateral instruments ... or such that we seal
ourselves off and become protectionist."
"I am pleased that you, like me, are convinced that we must
fashion globalization in a multilateral way," added Merkel.
She said she would make globalization a theme for debate during
Germany's presidency of the G20 next year.
Merkel was the driving force in Europe behind the Transatlantic
Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), an ambitious trade deal
between the European Union and United States).
That agreement, still in the negotiation phase, seems sure to
die under Trump, whose protectionist promises, should they
become reality, would hit few countries harder than Germany,
whose economic strength depends heavily on the openness of the
global trading system.
Looking ahead, Merkel said: "This dispute over openness or
sealing ourselves off (in trade) will keep us very busy in the
coming years."
(Reporting by Paul Carrel; Editing by Madeline Chambers and John
Stonestreet)
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