Germany welcomes US tariff exemption, wants more trade cooperation

Germany's economy minister on Friday welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to temporarily exclude European Union countries from higher U.S. import duties on steel and aluminium and called for more international cooperation on trade.

"I am very pleased that we have avoided a situation for the German steel and aluminium industry and its workers that could have led to great uncertainty," Economy Minister Peter Altmaier told Deutschlandfunk radio.

"We don't want further unilateral measures; rather we want sensible agreements," he added. "Our goal is that at the end of these talks, the international trade architecture must be more stable - there must be more cooperation, not less."