German leaders congratulate Trump on historic victory in US election

Admin I Wednesday, 06 November 2024

 

BERLIN – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other leaders in the country have congratulated Donald Trump on his historic victory in the US presidential election, even as economists warned of the impact his return to office would have on the global economy.

Scholz wrote on X: “I congratulate Donald Trump on his election as US President. For a long time, Germany and the US have been working together successfully promoting prosperity and freedom on both sides of the Atlantic. We will continue to do so for the wellbeing of our citizens.”

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier also called for continued close cooperation with the future US administration, stressing the importance of trans-Atlantic relations.

“Especially in this troubled world full of conflicts and uncertainties, our cooperation is of great value and strength, bilaterally and as partners in NATO and the United Nations,” Steinmeier said.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, while congratulating Trump, noted that the US-Germany relationship would have “unquestionable political differences.”

“Germany will continue to be a close, reliable ally for the future American government,” she said, adding that “our transatlantic friendship does not rest on a single party.”

But the minister emphasized that both domestic political conditions and foreign policy relations would need to be readjusted after the election.

Awaiting the official result, German economists warned on Wednesday of the economic consequences of a second Trump presidency. The former president has previously said he plans to impose tariffs on EU products.

Jörg Krämer, chief economist at Germany’s Commerzbank, warned that tariffs would not only raise the prices of German goods in the United States, but would also likely lead to counter-tariffs by the EU, “which would further burden foreign trade.”

The president of Germany’s BGA foreign trade association, Dirk Jandura, echoed this sentiment: “We take a critical view of import tariffs on European and Chinese products. The world needs fewer, not more, trade restrictions.”

“An American president can and must never be just and exclusively ‘America first,'” Jandura added. He said that the US is Germany’s most important trading partner and ally in a time of global upheaval.

According to the BGA, German traders will watch cautiously for the first official acts of the future president.