U.S. President Donald Trump meets with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the White House Oval Office in Washington, U.S., April 27, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Reuters: Nicht gut: Nearly 85 percent of Germans see U.S-German ties as negative
BERLIN (Reuters) - Nearly 85 percent of Germans have a negative or very negative view of U.S.-German relations, and most want to put more distance between the traditionally close transaltantic allies, a new poll showed on Friday.
Just over 40 percent of those polled view China as a better partner for Germany than the United States, the survey of around 5,000 people, conducted by Atlantik-Bruecke and the Civey institute in poll in November and December, showed.
Ties between the United States and Germany, Europe’s largest economy, have been strained since the 2016 election of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has criticized Germany repeatedly for its trade practices, defense spending and its participation in the Russian-led Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
Germany has sought to maintain friendly ties with the United States, but senior leaders speak publicly about an erosion of trust after Washington’s withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, a 2015 nuclear accord with Iran, and most recently, the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF).
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WNU Editor: U.S. - German relations have been going downhill for the past 15 years, starting with the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. And if anyone bothers to read the German press today (Spiegel Online, DW, etc.), the message is consistently critical of U.S. policies. Unfortunately, the Germans are making the situation worse by pulling stunts like this .... US Outraged Over Germany's Transfer Of Terrorist Who Killed Americans To Turkey (Zero Hedge). My prediction for the future. After the U.S. and China resolve their trade differences, the next U.S. trade target will be the EU, specifically Germany. This 85% negative view will probably climb to 100%.
