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  Barack Obama in Germany for free trade push

Barack Obama in Germany for free trade push

Published : Apr 25, 2016, 4:11 am IST
Updated : Apr 25, 2016, 4:11 am IST

US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel inspect a military guard of honour on arriving at the Herrenhausen Palace in Hanover. (Photo: AFP)

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US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel inspect a military guard of honour on arriving at the Herrenhausen Palace in Hanover. (Photo: AFP)

US President Barack Obama arrived on a valedictory visit to Germany on Sunday to see his “friend” Chancellor Angela Merkel, but their show of unity looked unlikely to silence opposition to their push for a transatlantic trade pact.

Mr Obama jetted into the northern city of Hanover from London. While his fifth and final official trip to Europe’s biggest economy is expected to cover global crises, one of the headline goals is to advance negotiations on what could become the world’s biggest free trade agreement.

Both sides say they aim to see the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) finalised, at least in its broad outlines, before Mr Obama leaves office in January.

However Ms Merkel’s economy minister Sigmar Gabriel cast doubt on those ambitions on Sunday, warning the deal “will fail” if the United States refuses to make concessions in the protracted talks.

“The Americans want to hold fast to their ‘buy American’ idea. We can’t accept that. They don’t want to open their public tenders to European companies. For me, that goes against free trade,” Mr Gabriel, a Social Democrat who is also Germany’s deputy chancellor, told business newspaper Handelsblatt.

His comments came a day after tens of thousands of people marched against the US-EU free trade deal through the streets of Hanover, where Mr Obama and Ms Merkel are to open what is billed as the world’s largest industrial technology fair on Sunday night.

During Mr Obama’s seven years in office, the Democrat US President and the conservative German Chancellor have grown closer and Mr Obama sees her, among European leaders at least, as first among equals.

“I consider Angela one of my closest partners and also a friend,” Mr Obama told the Bild newspaper. “I’ve worked with her longer and closer than any other world leader, and over the years I’ve learned from her,” he said.

Mr Obama’s two-day visit kicks off with talks with Ms Merkel and a joint press conference.

It will wrap up Monday with a keynote speech in which Mr Obama is expected to frame his vision of transatlantic relations, and a meeting with Ms Merkel and the leaders of Britain, France and Italy.

For Mr Obama, the trip will be an opportunity to burnish his legacy and bolster Ms Merkel, whose fortunes at home have been hit by her handling of the migration crisis.

Critics say her openness to refugees only accelerated the vast flow of people coming from Syria and beyond.

“I believe that Chancellor Merkel’s approach to the refugee crisis — and that of many Germans — has been courageous,” Mr Obama said, voicing an opinion heard less often in Germany than Ms Merkel would like.