Trump-Merkel Meeting BBC News Special

meeting for the Western alliance on both sides. Many beginning to figure

out already what will be said. The Chancellor of the Federal Republic

of Germany. Chancellor Merkel, it is a great

honour to welcome you to the People's house, the White House. Our

nations share much in common including our desire for security,

prosperity and peace. We just concluded a productive meeting with

the German and American companies to discuss workforce development and

vocational training. Very important words. Germany has done an

incredible job training the employees and future employees, and

employing its manufacturing and industrial workforce. It is crucial

that we provide our American workers with a really great employment

Outlook, and that includes making sure that we harness the full

potential of women in our economy. My administration is in the process

of rebuilding the American and industrial base. A stronger America

is in the interests, believe me, of the world as a whole. I reiterated

to Chancellor Merkel my strong support for Nato, as well as the

nude for our Nato allies to pay their fair share for the cost of

defence. Many nations though vast sums of money from past years, but

McVeigh over money, and it is very unfair to the United States. -- they

bow us money. These nations must pay what they owe us. I thanked

Chancellor Merkel for the German governments commitment to increase

defence spending and worked was contributing at least 2% of GDP. I

want to thank the Chancellor for her leadership in supporting Nato and

its efforts in Afghanistan. It has come at significant cost including

the lives of more than 50 German soldiers whose sacrifice be greatly

honour. I also appreciate Chancellor Merkel's leadership, along with that

of the French president, to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. Where we

ideally seek a peaceful solution. Most importantly our two countries

must continue to work together to protect our people from radical

Islamic terrorism. And to defeat Isis. I applaud Chancellor Merkel

for Germany's contributions, both civilian and military, as a counter

Isis coalition member. We also recognise that immigration security

is national security. We must protect our citizens from those

seeking to spread terrorism, extremism, and violence inside our

borders. Immigration is a privilege, not a right. And the safety of our

citizens must always come first without question. Over lunch the

Chancellor and I will talk about our economic partnership. We must work

together towards fair and reciprocal trade policies. That benefit both of

our peoples. Millions of hard-working US citizens have been

left behind by International commerce, and together we can shape

a future where all of our citizens have a path to financial security.

The United States will respect historic institutions and we will

also recognise the right of free people to manage their own destiny.

The close friendship between America and Germany is built on our shared

values. We cherish individual rights. We uphold the rule of law

and we seek peace among nations. Our Alliance is a symbol of strength and

co-operation to the world. It is the foundation of a very, very hopeful

future. Thank you. TRANSLATION: Muggy first personal

one on one meeting and an exchange of views. In the period leading up

to this visit I have always said it is much better to talk to one

another and not about one another and I think our conversation proved

this. We talked about the international situation. We talked

about apprenticeship programmes when we met with CEOs and apprentices

around a round table. As regard the shared interests that we have, let

me look back into the past. We, the Germans, owe a lot to the USA,

particularly regarding the economic rise of Germany. This was primarily

due to the help from the Marshall plan. We were also able to regain

German unity after decades of the USA standing up for this, with other

allies, standing by our site during the Cold War. And we are very

gratified to know that today we can live in peace and freedom as a

unified country due to that. I was gratified to know that the president

underlined how important he thinks Nato is, it is of prime importance

for us, and it was not without good reason that we said during our

summit meeting in Wales that also Germany needs to increase its

expenditure. We committed to this 2% goal until 2024. Last year we

increased our defence spending by 8% and we will work together again and

again on this. And we said that defence and security has a lot of

different facets to it. On the one hand it is supporting missions in

Africa, for instance, it is also promoting development assistance and

also helping missions in Africa, for example, in trying to stand up for

their own safety and security. We continued to be in conversation,

what is important for us today was that we could talk about

Afghanistan, and, as the president rightly said, the continuing mission

of Germany in Afghanistan. I'm very glad that the United States intends

to continue to commit through the Afghan mission as well. Together we

fight against Islamist terrorism, Germany is going to step up its work

and continue its work in Afghanistan and also in Syria. We are going to

monitor the situation closely, on political solutions there but also

in Libya, as we talked about. I am very gratified to know that the

American administration and also the president personally commit himself

to this process. We need to come to a solution. There has to be a safe,

secure solution for Ukraine, the relationship with Russia needs to be

improved as well, once the situation on the ground is clarified, Minsk is

a good basis but and fortunately we have not made headway we want to.

But we will work with experts in the next months on this issue. I'm also

here in my capacity as T20 president. We will be hosting the

G20 summit this year. -- G20 president. I am very pleased that

the president is committed to attending this summit. We are going

to talk and some length over lunch about these issues. We say that this

trade has to be rendered fairer, we can talk about the details of that,

we've already seen today when we had an exchange, with our CEOs and

apprentices, what sort of potential we can tap, Watts and potential our

two economies have. It is moving, when meeting with these people, to

see what sort of future work is being done by companies.

Particularly in this period when we are transiting from traditional

manufacturing, capacity building skills are so important, not only

for get people but also for those who maybe have lost their jobs and

need to be re-skilled in order to find a job again. That is an issue

that I know is important to you in the United States, also important

for Germany. I would say that there are a number of issues where we

would continue to co-operate closely on the level of experts and also on

our level, we had a good exchange of views so I'm very much looking

forward to the talks we will have over you. Thank you. We will take a

couple of questions. President Trump has a different

style to previous presidents, what do you think of that style, is it

good for the world? Thank you, Mark. We have a really wonderful group of

people meeting later. We met with 12 in Congress, you saw that a while

ago and they went from all noes to all yeses. It's all coming together.

We have a great health care plan, think it will be passed pretty

quickly. It is coming together beautifully. You have the

Conservative groups and other groups, everybody wants certain

things, we will have a great health care plan in the end. I have to say

that Obamacare is a disaster, it is failing. I was in Tennessee. We had

tremendous crowd the other night. Half of the state is not covered,

the insurance companies have left, and the other half has one insurance

company and that will probably be bailing out soon. They have no one.

Many states have one, a lot of places have none. Obamacare will

fail. It will fold, it will close and very soon, if something is not

done. I have often said politically that the best thing I can do is

absolutely nothing, wait one year and even the Democrats will come and

say please, please, you've got to help us. But it's not the right

thing to do for the people. We have a great plan, getting more and more

popular with the Republican base and with people generally. The press has

covered it inaccurately, people are covered well and it will be a model

to be looked upon, I think. I will tell you after we finished. Muggy

TRANSLATION: Thank you. I am here as Chancellor of the Federal Republic

of Germany, represent German interests, I speak with the

President of the United States who, well, stands up for, has interest in

his task and I was gratified by the warm and gracious hospitality by

which I have been received. We hold a conversation where we were trying

to address areas where we disagree but trying to bring people together,

trying to show what is our vantage point, what is the American vantage

point and trying to find a compromise is good for both sides

because we need to be fair to each other. Everyone expects from his or

her leader that something good comes out of it for their own people. The

Germany, I can say, people are different, they have different

abilities, different characteristics, different traits of

character and found their way into politics along different pathways.

That is diversity, which is good. Sometimes it is difficult to find

compromises but that is what we've been elected for. If everything just

went like that without problems we would not eat politicians to do

these jobs. -- we would not need politicians to do these jobs. From

the German press agency, Madame Chancellor, given the experience,

you say you are confident that was colourful, how dangerous do you

think this isolationist policy of the US president president is, what

with the anti-terrorism plans and also the fact that he thinks the EU

doesn't deal -- that he doesn't deal with the EU in a respectful way. Mr

President, America first, well that's not a week in the European

Union and why are you so scared of diversity in the media, that you

speak so often of fake news, and things that cannot be proven, for

example, the fact that you were wiretapped by Mr Obama? Nice

friendly reporter. First of all, I don't believe in an isolationist

policy. But I also believe a policy of trade should be a fair policy.

And the United States has been treated very unfairly by many

countries over the years and that is going to stop. But I'm not an

isolationist. I am a free trader but also a fair trade. And our free

trade has led to a lot of bad things happening. You look the deficits we

have, and you look at all of the accumulation of debt, we are a

powerful country, a very strong country, we will soon be at a level

that we perhaps have never been before, our military is going to be

strengthened, it has been depleted but I am a trader, I am a fair

trader, I am a trader that wants to see good for everybody worldwide,

but I am not an isolationist by any stretch of the imagination so I

don't know what newspaper you are reading but I guess that would be

another example of, as you say, fake news. Alow me, if I may come at it

in the following terms. We have not yet had time to talk at great length

about economic issues but I would say that the success of Germany in

the economic area but also on security and peace, that the success

of Germans has always been one where the German success is one side of

the coin and the other side of the coin has been European unity and

integration. That is something of which I am deeply convinced and I am

not just saying this back home, I'm saying it here and in the United

States and in Washington in my talks with the president. Secondly, I

believe that globalisation ought to be shaped in an open-minded way but

also in a very fair way, freedom of movement within the European Union

for example is an important element of our economic progress, peace, it

has been for many decades, the European countries for many

centuries which was against each other. We have to protect our

external borders because there we have to work on the basis of mutual

interests with our neighbours. Migration, immigration, integration

has to be worked on, obviously, traffickers have to be stopped, but

this has to be done by looking at the refugees as well. Giving them

opportunities to shape their own lives where they are. Help countries

who right now are not in an ability to do so, sometimes because they

have civil war. I think that is the right way of going about it. This is

obviously what we have an exchange of views about. But my position is

the one I have just set out to you. I might add that we have many plans,

many plants coming back to Michigan, are higher, Pennsylvania, to a lot

of places where they were losing jobs, and we will have a different

odyssey -- magic, Orinoco, Pennsylvania. -- magic, Ohio,

Pennsylvania. It will be a great policy, not just the USA, but

worldwide. I look forward to it. I think we have are very unified

Republican party. After all, we have the presidency, we have the House,

and the Senate and we are getting along very well. If you were at the

meeting that I just attended, where we took 12 noes or semi-noes and no

yeses and within a short period of time everyone was very much on

board. And a commitment to vote yes. I think we have a very unified

party. More unified than even the election, when they talk about me I

seem to be very popular, at least this week, within the party! Because

we have our highest numbers, the highest numbers I've ever had in the

party. So I think there is great unification, health is a very

difficult a very complex subject, one that goes both ways, you do

something for one side and the other side does not like it. But it has

come together very well and I think it is going to be very popular,

extremely popular, on trade with Germany I think we will do

fantastically well. Right now I would say that the negotiators for

Germany have done a far better job than the negotiators of the United

States. But hopefully we can even it out. We don't want victory, we want

fairness. All I want is fairness. Germany has done very well in its

trade deals with the US and I give them credit for it but, and I can

speak for many other countries, when you look at China, virtually any

country that we do business with, it is not exactly what you call good

for our workers. If you look at the horrible Nafta transaction, Nafta

has been a disaster for the United States. It has been a disaster for

companies, and in particular a disaster for the workers. A lot of

the companies just moved. But the workers, they are probably the

reason I am standing here, maybe the number one, that and the military,

building up our military which we will do and be stronger than ever

before and hopefully not have to use it. But we will be stronger, perhaps

far stronger than ever before. It is probably the reason I am here, when

you talk about trade. So I think we are going to be a very different

country. I think we are going to, have great values, but in terms of

the military it will be much stronger, and our trade deals are

going to be good solid deals. Not deals that lead to closing plants

and tremendous and implement. OK. Thank you. Dash to medicine and

employment. -- tremendous unemployment.

Is a problem that the presidents of Europe and of the United States have

a basic different understanding of these problems? Rejected White House

claims of alleged wiretapping on you, and Trump Tower and the Trump

organisation or are members of your campaign that British intelligence

was either responsible for it or involved in it? After these games

are rejected. What is your take take on that? Was it a mistake to blame

British intelligence for this, are there for time to time tweets that

you regret? Very seldom! Probably would not be here right now but very

seldom. We have a tremendous group of people that listen and I can get

around the media when the media doesn't tell the truth so I like

that. As far as wiretapping, I guess, by this past administration,

at least we have something in common perhaps! And just to finish, your

question, we said nothing. All we did was quote a certain very

talented legal minds who was the one responsible for saying that on TV. I

did not make an opinion on it. It was made by a talented lawyer on

Fox. So you should not talk to me, you should talk to Fox. OK?

TRANSLATION: I believe that the president has clearly set out his

philosophy as to what trade agreements need to bring about for

the American side as well. I personally do not think that Germany

needs to negotiate and not the EU. We have devolved our competences so

the European Commission negotiates an part of the member states. That

will not prevent us from concluding agreements. This would qualify as a

bilateral agreement between the EU and USA if we had it. The question

is, would it be of benefit to both countries? Let me be very honest. A

free-trade agreement with the USA has not always been popular Germany

either. There have been fewer demonstrations against this

free-trade agreement in the USA than in Europe. And also in Germany. So I

am glad to note that apparently the perspective on that has changed a

little bit at least in Germany as well.

Thank you very much. It was a great honour. There we are. A a few

comments about the wider range of subjects there and taking questions

from all of those reporters, who been waiting some