 President Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pose for a photo at the G-7 summit in Taormina, Italy, on May 26. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters) By Ana Swanson President Trump once again accused Germany of having an unfair advantage over the United States in trade, lashing out at the European ally for exporting more to the U.S. than it imports. The tweet comes on the heels of Trump's visit to Europe last week, where he met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a summit of the leaders of the world's largest economies. It continues a long-running concern by the president about whether foreign countries are exploiting U.S. economic strength through unfair trade relationships. While Trump has often directed that concern at Mexico and China, he has previously focused on German trade as well, particularly its export of cars. The meetings with the Europeans last week were largely seen as contentious, with Trump criticizing allies for failing to contribute enough financial resources to defense efforts and Europeans showing concern about his commitment to the Paris climate accords. After German media reported that Trump lashed out over German auto exports in private meetings, White House officials downplayed the exchange, though not entirely. "He said they're very bad on trade, but he doesn't have a problem with Germany," National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn told reporters. On Sunday, following the meetings, Merkel announced that Europe "really must take our fate into our own hands," showing new distance from its long-standing alliance with the United States. Germany maintained a $69 billion trade surplus with the U.S. in 2016 — reflecting $49.4 billion in U.S. exports to Germany and $114.2 billion imports from Germany. In general, economists say that trade deficits are a poor way to measure economic success or failure. But while Trump's criticism of the country in the U.S. context may not be entirely fair, they say, his broader point has merit.
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