Could US-German ties survive another Trump stress test?

Rachel More -

Despite being close allies, diplomatic relations between Berlin and Washington haven’t always been plain sailing. Germany was vehemently opposed to the Iraq War in 2003, while the long-chronicled friendship of Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Barack Obama was itself tested by spying revelations in 2017 and disagreement over the treatment of whistleblower Edward Snowden.

But one test has tried the two countries’ relations like no other: the presidency of Donald Trump. Trump has called Berlin “delinquent” for falling short of the 2-per-cent-of-GDP defence spending target committed to by Nato partners, accused Germany of hypocrisy over its massive gas pipeline project with Russia, and slapped tariffs on the EU — and Germany by default — over their trade deficit with the US.

Tariffs on cars — a major German export — have been a constant threat from the White House. “He doesn’t view our allies as assets but more of a burden and has openly questioned whether the European Union is a foe rather than anally’’, explained Sudha David-Wilp, a US foreign policy expert based in Berlin with the German Marschall Fund. Trump targets Germany — the EU’s largest economy — partly because he sees the EU as “essentially an extension of German power,” Nathalie Tocci, Director of the IAI think-tank in Rome and a special adviser to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, said.

The US reality TV star turned commander in chief has a “visceral” antipathy towards Germany, Tocci added. “At the beginning, I think Trump came in with some good intentions that struck a chord with the American electorate,” David-Wilp said, referring to efforts to broach the rift over Nato burden-sharing and other long-standing issues. “But now it’s got to the point where the bullying has not been beneficial. It’s kind of like that point where you reach diminishing return, where it’s not helping, it’s just hurting.”

For that reason, many in Germany are hoping that Trump will be voted out of office on November 3, and that his Democratic opponent Joe Biden will set about mending ties. But even if Biden wins, there is a limit to how much relations can be patched up. — dpa