Germany wants to use all options for talks about planned U.S tariffs

[March 16, 2018]  BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany wants to use all possibilities to talk about planned U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs, a government spokesman said on Friday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel sits on the government bench after a swear-in ceremony in Germany's lower house of parliament Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, March 14, 2018. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

Chancellor Angela Merkel has said the European Union will try to secure an exemption from the tariffs, and that protectionism is not the right approach to international trade.

"We want to use all opportunities for talks," the spokesman told a regular government news conference in Berlin, stressing that the unity of EU member states on the tariffs issue was particularly important.

(Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Michelle Martin)

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