Ana Sayfa Genel Obama to use Germany visit to push trans-Atlantic trade deal

Obama to use Germany visit to push trans-Atlantic trade deal

Yazar:

24 Nisan 2016

Obama to use Germany visit to push trans-Atlantic trade deal

AERZEN, Germany (AP) — President Barack Obama, beginning a visit Sunday to Germany, hoped to build momentum for a U.S.-Europe trade deal that has become a tough sell, particularly in Germany.

Other issues were on the agenda for talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, including efforts to counter the Islamic State group, improve cooperation on counterterrorism, and encourage countries to share law enforcement information. IS says it was responsible for attacks that killed 30 people in Brussels last month.

Obama also wants to give Merkel public praise for her “courageous” handling of the migrant issue. Her decision to allow the resettlement in Germany of hundreds of thousands of people fleeing violence in Syria and other areas of conflict in the Mideast caused an angry domestic backlash.

U.S. President Barack Obama walks down the stairs upon his arrival at the airport in Hannover, northern Germany, Sunday, April 24, 2016. Obama is on a two-day official visit to Germany. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

Merkel recently helped European countries negotiate a deal with Turkey to help stem the migrant flow, but she and the other leaders are now under pressure to revisit it.

The Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was a main factor behind what likely is Obama’s final stop in Germany before he leaves office in January. He planned to join Merkel at the Hannover Messe, the world’s largest industrial technology trade fair, to promote the agreement.

Thousands of people took to the streets in protest in Hannover on Saturday, the day before Obama arrived. Some carried placards that said “Yes We Can — Stop TTIP!” It was a riff on Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign slogan.

In November, more than 100,000 people in Berlin protested against the proposed pact.

Proponents say the deal would boost business at a time of global economic uncertainty. Critics fear the erosion of consumer protections and environmental standards.

Negotiators in Washington and Europe are trying to finalize key parts of the deal before the end of the year, after which Obama’s successor and election campaigns in major European countries could further complicate the already difficult negotiations.

Obama said it was important to conclude negotiations even though Congress is unlikely to ratify the deal before he leaves office. “But if we have that deal, then the next president can pick that up rapidly and get that done,” he told the BBC in an interview broadcast Sunday.

In London on Saturday, he argued for the pact while acknowledging the tough work needed to complete it.

Despite “enormous amounts of trade” between the U.S. and Europe, “there’s still barriers that exist that prevent businesses and individuals that are providing services to each other to be able to be able to do so seamlessly,” he said. The pact will bring millions of jobs and billions of dollars in benefits to both sides of the Atlantic, Obama said.

Negotiating trade deals “is tough,” Obama said, because each country fights for its own interests.

“The main thing between the United States and Europe is trying to just break down some of the regulatory differences that make it difficult to do business back and forth,” he said.

Merkel is the world leader with whom Obama has worked throughout his two terms, in good and bad times, and he planned to use the visit to show political solidarity, particularly on the migrant issue. Her approach to the crisis, which dented her popularity at home, “has been courageous,” he said.

Merkel and top European officials traveled near the Turkish border on Saturday to promote the EU-Turkey migrant deal.

“She’s demonstrated real political and moral leadership,” Obama told the German daily Bild in an interview published Saturday. “The politics around refugees and immigration is hard in any country, but I believe the best leaders are willing to take on the toughest issues, especially when it’s not easy.”

Obama was likely to contrast Merkel with the Republican presidential candidates in the United States who want to block Muslims from entering America.

On Monday, Obama was to give a speech addressing the challenges facing the United States and Europe.

Merkel has used the occasion of Obama’s visit to invite the leaders of France, Britain and Italy to Hannover that day for a meeting expected to focus on Syria, Libya, IS, migration and other issues.

Associated Press writer Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.

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U.S. President Barack Obama, center, talks to John B. Emerson, US ambassador to Germany, right, and Stephan Weil, governor of German state of Lower Saxony, second right, upon his arrival at the airport in Hannover, northern Germany, Sunday, April 24, 2016. Obama is on a two-day official visit to Germany. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

U.S. President Barack Obama, right, hugs Kimberly, the wife of John B. Emerson, US ambassador to Germany, upon his arrival at the airport in Hannover, northern Germany, Sunday, April 24, 2016. Obama is on a two-day official visit to Germany. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

President Barack Obama arrives on Air Force One at Hannover Airport in Langenhagen, Germany, Sunday, April 24, 2016, as he travels from London. The president is on a six day trip to strategize with his counterparts in Saudi Arabia, England and Germany on a broad range of issues with efforts to rein in the Islamic State group being the common denominator in all three stops. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

U.S. President Barack Obama, left, talks to John B. Emerson, US ambassador to Germany, right, and Stephan Weil, governor of German state of Lower Saxony, center, upon his arrival at the airport in Hannover, northern Germany, Sunday, April 24, 2016. Obama is on a two-day official visit to Germany. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

A statue sits in the gardens of Herrenhausen Palace where U.S. President Barack Obama will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Hannover, northern Germany, Sunday, April 24, 2016. Obama is on a two-day official visit to Germany. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

EU-US trade deal ‘will fail’ if US refuses concessions: German minister

Negotiations on a US-EU free trade deal “will fail” if the US refuses to make concessions, German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel warned Sunday ahead of a visit by US President Barack Obama.

“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,” Gabriel, who is also Germany’s deputy chancellor, told business newspaper Handelsblatt.

“If the Americans hold fast to this position, we don’t need the free trade treaty. And TTIP will fail,” he warned.

The Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) has run into major opposition in Europe, not least in Germany, where critics have raised the spectre of eroding ecological and labour market standards ©Carmen Jaspersen (AFP/File)

Tens of thousands of people demonstrated Saturday against the trade pact in the northern city of Hanover, where Obama is to hold talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel during a visit intended to boost efforts to finalise the accord before he leaves office.

On a visit to London on Saturday, Obama sought to address sceptics’ fears head-on, admitting that some past trade agreements had “served the interests of large corporations and not necessarily of workers in the countries that participate in them”.

The Latest: US urges Merkel to sell trade deal to Germans

HANNOVER, Germany (AP) — The Latest on President Barack Obama’s visit to Germany (all times local):

1:10 p.m.

The U.S. secretary of commerce is calling on German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government to promote a planned trans-Atlantic trade deal in the country.

President Barack Obama waves as he boards Air Force One at Stansted Airport, England, Sunday April 24, 2016. The president is on a six day trip to strategize with his counterparts in Saudi Arabia, England and Germany on a broad range of issues with efforts to rein in the Islamic State group being the common denominator in all three stops. (AP Photo/Tim Ireland)

The German government is keen to clinch the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP, but public opinion of the deal is low in Germany. Tens of thousands of Germans took part in a protest against the deal Saturday in Hannover, a day before U.S. President Barack Obama meets there with Chancellor Merkel.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker told German weekly Der Spiegel in an interview published Sunday that “it’s really incumbent upon the German government and Germany industry, the same way it’s incumbent on the U.S. government and U.S. industry to explain to our peoples the benefits that we already realize by trading together and the opportunity that’s created by TTIP.”

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12:45 p.m.

President Barack Obama has arrived in Germany to mount a two-day push to sell his trans-Atlantic trade pact.

Obama landed in the northern city of Hannover on Sunday afternoon. He’s leading a delegation of American business leaders attending the Hannover Messe, the world’s largest industrial technology trade fair.

Obama is slated to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel before they attend the fair opening.

The president is expected to make the case for the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or T-TIP.

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11:10 a.m.

President Barack Obama says it could take a decade for Britain to negotiate a new trade agreement with the United States if it leaves the European Union.

In a BBC interview, Obama said “it could be five years from now, 10 years from now before we were able to actually get something done.”

He said that “the U.K. would not be able to negotiate something with the United States faster than the EU.”

Obama flies to Germany Sunday after a U.K. visit during which he angered supporters of an EU exit by making it clear the United States wants Britain to stay in.

He said Friday that Britain would go to the “back of the queue” for a trade deal if it votes to leave in a June 23 referendum.

11:00 a.m.

Germany’s vice chancellor is urging the United States to budge in negotiations on a free trade deal with Europe and warns that the hoped-for accord could fail if Washington doesn’t give ground.

President Barack Obama is expected in Germany Sunday, hoping to build momentum for the so-called Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP. The German government is also keen to clinch the deal.

However, Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel was quoted Sunday as telling the Handelsblatt newspaper that “the Americans want to stick to their ‘buy American’ idea. We can’t accept that.”

He also complained that the U.S. doesn’t want to open public tenders to companies from Europe.

Gabriel said: “If the Americans stick to this position, we don’t need a free trade agreement. Then TTIP will fail.”

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08:46 a.m.

President Barack Obama is hoping to build momentum for a trade deal between the U.S. and Europe during a two-day visit to Germany.

But Obama knows a tough sell awaits him, particularly in Germany. He arrives there Sunday and opposition to the agreement is fierce.

Thousands swarmed the streets Saturday in Hannover, on the eve of Obama’s arrival, to protest the agreement. In November, more than 100,000 protested the deal in Berlin.

Proponents argue that it would boost business at a time of global economic uncertainty. Critics fear the erosion of consumer protections and environmental standards.

Negotiators want to finalize key parts of the deal before the year ends.

Obama is also meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday to discuss the Islamic State group and other issues.

President Barack Obama and Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron walk on the third green at the Grove Golf Course in Hertfordshire, England, Saturday, April 23, 2016. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron play the third green at the Grove Golf Course in Hertfordshire, England, Saturday, April 23, 2016. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Defence minister blasts Barack Obama for being IGNORANT over EU judges and free movement and claims they hurt Britain’s security as the President flies out of the UK

Barack Obama insisted Britain in a strong EU was vital for the Nato alliance
The President flew out of the UK today after three days of backing the EU
Penny Mordaunt, a Vote Leave spokeswoman, blasted Obama’s warning
The Defence Minister warned the EU actually hampers security and Nato

A British defence ministers today accused Barack Obama of ‘woeful ignorance’ after he claimed Britain should stay in the EU because it boosts security.

Armed Forces Minister Penny Mordaunt, a Vote Leave spokeswoman, said EU judges and the free movement rules make national security harder to maintain.

The US President flew out of Britain today after a three day visit in which he hammered away at a call for Britons to back EU membership at the referendum on June 23.

Mr Obama infuriated Brexit campaigners by claiming Britain would be at the ‘back of the queue’ for a bilateral trade deal with the US, insisting Britain’s influence in the world was ‘magnified’ by EU membership.

Barack Obama waved farewell from the door of Air Force One at Standsted Airport today, ending what is expected to be his final visit to Britain as President

Mr Obama earlier boarded Marine One at Winfield House, the US Ambassador’s Residence, as he prepared to depart Britain today. The President has been blasted for ‘woeful ignorance’ after using the trip to intervene on Brexit

But Ms Mordaunt, who worked for former president George W Bush before entering Parliament, told the Telegraph Mr Obama was wrong.

She said: ‘Unfortunately this opinion betrays a woeful ignorance of the practical reality of the EU’s impact on our security, and the interests of the UK and the US.

Obama to use Germany visit to push trans-Atlantic trade deal — **Defence Minister Penny Mordaunt accused Obama of ignoring dangers from EU judges and free movement**
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‘Obama warned on Friday that divisions in Europe will weaken Nato, but often those divisions are caused by the EU itself.

‘Obama confuses collective action and defence through Nato with the integration-at all-costs-and-damn-the- consequences ideology that too often motivates the EU.’

Ms Mordaunt claimed free movement created ‘alarming weaknesses’ in security because ISIS terrorists were able to travel ‘unimpeded’ across the Schengen zone.

And she claimed the European Court of Justice has ‘repeatedly’ undermined the ability of Britain and America to share intelligence.

The Minister urged President Obama to ask the CIA to ‘explain to him’ why a new EU intelligence agency will help.

In a BBC interview today before he flew on to Germany, Mr Obama repeated his advice to Britain to stay in the EU.

But he admitted the intelligence and security relationship between Britain and America would survive a Brexit vote.

Following his talks in London, he said: ‘We’ve been focusing on lots of things, including intelligence sharing, given the very real threat from terrorist groups around the world.

‘They wouldn’t be affected in the sense that our intelligence teams work extremely close, our militaries work extremely closely together.’

https://youtu.be/TX5CIrzKo8g

Mr Obama marked the end of his trip with a BBC interview where he admitted the intelligence and security relationship between Britain and America would survive a Brexit vote

Mr Obama left Marine One after arriving at Stansted Airport to bid farewell to Britain at the end of what is expected to be his final visit as President

Mr Obama met members of the US Air Force at Stansted before boarding Air Force One and flying out of London to Germany

But the President warned: ‘Where it would have an impact is that we also have to make sure that Continental Europe is safe in order to keep us safe, and the fact that the UK is involved in conversations about how we upgrade information sharing in Continental Europe.

‘The influence that it has in debates in Europe around how do we approach intelligence, how do we approach law enforcement, how do we break down some of the silos that prevent us from preventing the kinds of horrific crimes that we’ve seen in Brussels and Paris?

‘I think we will together be less effective if we’re not in those forums, than we are currently, where we’ve got this great ally who engages in unmatched cooperation with us in the room negotiating.’

Air Force One was prepared on the tarmac at Stansted ready for Mr Obama’s departure, with the President due to fly on to Germany as part of his farewell tour

Security was high at Stansted Airport today ahead of Mr Obama’s departure from Britain, including the deployment of a US Military ‘Osprey’ craft

Economy, security crises in focus as Obama arrives in Germany

By Roberta Rampton

HANOVER, Germany, April 24 (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in Germany on Sunday to hold talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, one of his closest allies in dealing with a shaky global economy and security crises in the Middle East and Ukraine.

It will be the last stop on a six-day foreign journey where Obama has sought to shore up U.S. alliances he views as key to increase trade, defeat Islamic State militants and offset Russian intervention in Ukraine and Syria.

Obama, who is in the last nine months of his presidential term, spent three days in London where he urged Britons to remain in the European Union in a June referendum, a vote that could have global economic consequences.

Earlier in the week, he met with Gulf leaders in Riyadh to try to allay fears that Washington had become less committed to their security, especially after the nuclear deal with the Saudis’ regional rival Iran.

In Hanover, he will tour and speak at a massive industrial trade fair with Merkel. The leaders want to breathe life into a U.S.-European free trade accord still under negotiation which supporters say could boost each economy by some $100 billion.

Their push comes at a time when many Europeans and Americans alike fear the deal could cost jobs and affect standards.

“But time is not on anyone’s side at the moment,” said Heather Conley, a former State Department official in the George W. Bush administration, now with the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington.

Leaders are trying to wrap up complex talks on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the formal name of the accord, before Obama, a Democrat, leaves office on Jan. 20.

Getting a sign-off from the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress in the heat of an election campaign will be difficult. Obama has yet to secure approval for the sweeping Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, which is at a much more advanced stage.

“Getting trade deals done is tough, because each country has its own parochial interests and factions. And in order to get a trade deal done, each country has to give something up,” Obama said at a London event on Saturday.

In Hanover, thousands of protesters holding placards with slogans like “Stop TTIP” marched on Saturday to express their opposition to the deal.

Before Obama returns to Washington late on Monday, he and Merkel will get together with British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Francois Hollande, and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to talk about beefing up intelligence sharing after Islamist militant attacks in France and Belgium.

The leaders are also expected to discuss how best to find a political settlement to Syria’s civil war. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have fled the country for Europe, contributing to the continent’s worst refugee crisis since World War Two. (Additional reporting by Joseph Nasr in Berlin; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Britain might have to deploy troops to fight ISIS in Libya warns Philip Hammond as David Cameron prepares for G5 talks with Merkel and Obama in Germany

Libya descended into chaos after British bombing helped remove Gaddafi
Foreign Secretary has repeatedly said no deployment of troops is imminent
But today Hammond admitted nothing could be ruled out as ISIS move in
EU leaders are awaiting a call for help from the new government in Tripoli

Philip Hammond today admitted Britain might have to deploy combat troops to fight ISIS in Libya.

The Foreign Secretary acknowledged the severity of the threat on Europe’s doorstep as a new government in Tripoli battles to exert some control over the war-torn country.

Mr Hammond has repeatedly said in recent weeks there are no plans in place for Britain to join a new mission in Libya – despite firm reports a 1,000-strong British force will be deployed on a training mission.

But Mr Hammond today said nothing should be ruled out, adding Royal Air Force or Royal Navy assets could also be deployed alongside the Army.

The revelation comes as David Cameron prepares to fly to Germany to join a G5 meeting with US President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Italian Premier Matteo Renzi.

Philip Hammond, pictured last week with Libyan PM Fayez al-Sarraj in Tripoli, today said British troops could be sent to Libya if ISIS secure a foothold in the Mediterranean state

Mr Hammond made his remarks in a Sunday Telegraph interview and said it ‘wouldn’t make sense to rule anything out’.

He said: ‘The southern Mediterranean coast is a vital security interest.

‘Clearly, internationally-focused terrorists, established on the Mediterranean coast, are a threat to all the countries of Europe, including the UK.

‘But if there were ever any question of a British combat role in any form – ground, sea or air – that would go to the House of Commons.’

He added: ‘It is only 100 miles from Libya to Lampedusa. I think it is a threat.

‘If Daesh became established in Libya and sought to use that established base to infiltrate terrorists into Europe, that would be a threat to all of us.’

Mr Hammond repeated his belief the new Libyan government would be reluctant to invite in foreign soldiers while it attempts to assert control over bitter tribal fighting.

Libya is set to be a key part of the G5 talks in Hannover tomorrow.

The failure of Libya following British and French bombing in 2011, which in support of a local uprising removed Colonel Gaddafi, has become a focus for international foreign policy after Mr Obama blasted European leaders for failing to follow through on the conflict.

US President Barack Obama, pictured today disembarking from Air Force One in Germany, admitted today he had his share of ‘collective responsibility’ for the failure of Libya after the 2011 bombing campaign

Mr Obama was greeted on the tarmac in Germany by US ambassador to Germany John Emerson, centre, and Minister President of German state Lower Saxony Stephan Weil, right

But in an interview to mark the end of his final visit to Britain, the US President acknowledged he had to take his own share of responsibility.

He told the BBC: ‘Well, I think that we were all distracted.

‘So, this was something that I think we all share some collective responsibility for. I continue to believe it was the right thing to do. That had we stood by passively, that Gaddafi would have killed enormous numbers of his own people.

‘Libya would have been embroiled in a continuing war that would have been even more disruptive and damaging, but what is also true is that we now have to focus on that country stabilising itself and having a government that can actually function and we can interact with.

‘The good news is, this Government of National Accord, very tentative, very fragile, is beginning to come together.

Mr Obama added: ‘It has enormous ramifications over the long term for Europe. It speaks to one part of the migration crisis that’s been taking place, but also, it’s a critical component of our overall campaign to defeat ISIL.’

Mr Obama, Angela Merkel and David Cameron will have talks on the situation in Libya at a G5 meeting in Hannover tomorrow