Merkel and Trump: Will they reconcile views on trade and foreign policy

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is on an official visit to the United States, accompanied by the executive leadership of Siemens, Sachaeffer, and BMW, reports Patria.

The Chancellor will meet President Donald Trump for the first time today.

She previously revealed to German journalists that she is looking forward to her first meeting with the new president:

- It is always better to talk to each other than about each other, she said.

The BBC reminds that during the presidential campaign, Trump threatened to impose higher import taxes on countries like Germany that have trade surpluses with the US.

The Chancellor commented on this by pointing out that there is a great deal of direct German investment in the US.

She recalled that BMW's factory in the US exports "more vehicles from that country than GM and Ford combined," adding: "I will emphasize that."

This meeting between the two leaders, who have publicly differed in their views, has been expected for a long time.

The BBC further writes that Trump stated that the Chancellor "made a catastrophic mistake" by allowing hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants to enter Germany.

At the time, Merkel responded that the EU must take responsibility for itself. "We Europeans hold our destiny in our own hands," the Chancellor said on that occasion.

In return, she criticized Trump's controversial ban on entry into the US for the population of seven predominantly Muslim countries.

At the beginning of the year, during a phone call with Trump, she explained to him that the Geneva Convention obliges its signatories, including the US, to accept refugees from war on humanitarian grounds.

The two statesmen will have a two-hour meeting and a joint lunch. The agenda will also include foreign policy issues such as Russia, Syria, North Korea, Iran, and the Middle East peace process.