Merkel vows to work at U.S. relationship

BERLIN (Reuters) – Angela Merkel, Chancellor Angela Merkel, said she would work on the United States but said it would work on the United States. world order.

At a wide-ranging news conference, Merkel described Germany's relationship with the United States as "Crucial", even after US President Donald Trump last week accused of being "captive" of Russia due to its energy reliance.

Merkel, 64, Trump and a raft of foreign policy challenges including Brexit.

Asked about her working relationship with Trump, Merkel said: "However, the transatlantic working relationship, including with the US president, is crucial for us and I will carry on growing it, "she added.

Last week, Trump said Germany was wrong to allow a new $ 11-billion Baltic Sea pipeline to import even more Russian gas, while being slow to meet targets for NATO spending.

"I think it is a horrific thing that's being done when you're feeding trillions and trillions of dollars from Germany primarily … into the coffers of Russia," Trump had said during a trip to Europe.

He also pressed Germany and other NATO countries to raise their defense spending, threatening to go it alone if other members of the alliance did not step up.

Merkel resisted any temptation to hit back at Trump, who has faced a political outcry back in the United States with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The chancellor, a conservative who grew up in Communist East Germany, instead welcomed Trump's invitation to Putin to meet in Washington this autumn and said it should become normal again for US and Russian leaders to meet.

But she said she would have been right to say that she would not be able to come back to her country.

"We can not rely on the superpower of the United States," Merkel said.

CONCERN OVER CAR RATES

The chancellor, who is serving the fourth term in office, noted that transatlanticties had been marked by many, and said: "I hope we can find the strength to take things further. "

She is concerned about Trump's threat to impose new US tariffs on imported cars, and said the United States opinion".

Merkel described the possible U.S. tariffs on imported cars as "a real threat to the prosperity of many in the world".

"We do not want these tariffs. We think we'll hurt each other – they will not hurt us in the European Union – they could have much more far-reaching consequences, "she said, adding on trade:" We have a very serious situation in the world. "

US 6 billion euros ($ 7.00 billion) off German economic output, the president of Germany 's DIHK Chambers of Commerce said earlier.

If talks fail to result in a deal with the US that complies with WTO rules, the European Union could impose countermeasures "but that is by far the worst solution," said Merkel.

The news conference was Merkel's last appointment before she goes on holiday after a tumultuous period marked by Trump's criticism and a row over immigration with her Bavarian allies that she resolved earlier this month.

Asked if she was exhausted, Merkel, who has been in office since 2005, replied: "I can not complain. These are demanding times. "