When Donald Trump meets Angela Merkel: the key battleground areas

Angela Merkel faces a "make or break" meeting with Donald Trump on Tuesday in which she is under pressure to bury the hatchet with the president, or risk plunging US-Germany relations to a new low.

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تاریخ: ۲۲ اسفند ۱۳۹۵ - ۱۰:۲۸

Mr Trump and Mrs Merkel have already clashed with the US president calling her open door refugee policy "insane," while in Germany there have been deep concerns about Mr Trump's commitment to the future of Nato, and his plan to ban citizens of six predominantly Muslim entering the US.

It seems that the heady days of America's warm relationship with Germany - as famously reflected in the "bench photo" of Mrs Merkel and Barack Obama at the the G7 summit - might be long gone.

So here are five things to watch out for when Donald Trump and Angela Merkel meet on 14 March.

Tactics: A short visit, but not a sweet one

In anticipation of potential friction, the German chancellor's visit will take place mid-week with less fanfare than past visits from Shinzo Abe, the Japanese leader, and Theresa May.

Mr Abe had been invited to play a round of golf over the weekend at Mr Trump's resort in Florida, while the president is said to have referred to Mrs May as "my Maggie."

"So far Frau Merkel's attitude towards Trump has been seen as passive aggressive, Trump's attitude towards Merkel as active aggressive," said Professor Anthony Glees, an expert in German politics at the University of Buckingham.

"They must cordially agree to disagree on past actions and past words, but to work together."

In an attempt to build bridges the White House arranged for Mrs Merkel to meet with Vice President Mike Pence two weeks ago at a security conference in Munich.

The two leaders will also discuss the global economy, the fight against Islamic State, and ties with Russia and China.

Their meeting will lay the groundwork for Mr Trump’s visit to Germany in July for a gathering of G20 leaders.

Nato: Germany to be told to "share the burden"

Donald Trump infamously dismissed Nato as "obsolete" -  but Mrs Merkel, also a major Nato ally, has repeatedly underlined its importance in an increasingly precarious Europe, where Russian leader Vladimir Putin is trying to broaden his influence.

Unsurprisingly, then, senior US officials said addressing issues over Nato would be one of the top priorities in the US-Germany summit.

Mr Trump will use his first face-to-face meeting with Angela Merkel to put pressure on Germany to "share the burden" of Nato spending, a senior administration official said.

"The president believes that all allies must share the burden of Nato spending, and he is heartened that the German government is committed to spending two per cent of GDP," said the official.

"The message has been strong that all allies need to be making progress towards this goal. I expect it will definitely be a topic of conversation...it will be a robust discussion on how to operationalise this goal.

"He does believe Germany as one of the largest economies should be setting an example and leading an example as we do in the United States.

"He is very tough on the issue and has encouraged Europeans to look at increased commitments as well and we have already seen statements on this from Europe."

Trade: 'Candid' talks on $65bn deficit

Mr Trump will be "candid" with Angela Merkel about the need to reduce America's trade deficit with Germany when the two meet in Washington next week, in what will be the US president's first meeting with a world leader of whom he has been critical.

Peter Navarro, Mr Trump's trade adviser, suggested there would be very direct talks about the trade deficit. The $65 billion US trade deficit with Germany was "one of the most difficult" trade issues facing Mr Trump, he said, and bilateral discussions were needed to reduce it outside European Union restrictions.

Speaking at a National Association for Business Economics conference in Washington on Monday, Mr Navarro said: "It would be useful to have candid discussions with Germany about ways that we could possibly get that deficit reduced outside the boundaries and restrictions that they claim that they are under."

Mr Navarro, director of the new White House National Trade Council, added: "It's a serious issue. Germany is one of the most difficult trade deficits that we're going to have to deal with but we're thinking long and hard about that."

Industry: Big tax hikes on German cars

The US is Germany's biggest destination for exports but Mr Trump has warned his administration may impose a 35 per cent tax on cars BMW intends to make at a new plant in Mexico and sell in the US.

Speaking on Thursday an exasperated sounding Juergen Hardt, Germany's coordinator for transatlantic policies, said: "Does the American president want to force Americans to stop buying German cars in the future?

"If the United States wants to become truly 'great' again then it should stand up to the global competition and not allow it to be weakened through isolation. That's actually an economic truism which one needs to remind some people in Washington about."

During the election Mr Trump let loose on Mrs Merkel, accusing her of "ruining" Germany with her refugee policy. In January he told Bild that Mrs Merkel had made a "catastrophic" error on migration.

Immigration: He says she ruined Germany - but she says his travel ban 'unjustified'

A major area where these leaders are likely to clash is on immigration - there is a long history of one attacking the other over the issue.

As far back as 2015, Mr Trump accused the German leader of 'ruining' her country

Relations soured further in January 2017, when Mr Trump gave a joint interview to Bild and the Times in which he said Mrs Merkel made a "catastrophic" error on migration.

"I think she made one very catastrophic mistake and that was taking all of these illegals, you know taking all of the people from wherever they come from," he said. "And nobody even knows where they come from."

As for the German chancellor, she reacted to the president's hugely controversial travel ban with the following statement: "

"I have made it clear once again that the fight against terrorism does not justify a general advance against certain countries and people with a certain belief.”

Overall aim: Try and hold the relationship together

Prof Glees, an expert in German politics at the University of Buckingham, said the White House visit would be "make or break" for Mrs Merkel.

"There will be huge pressure from Trump's backroom guys to chum up to Frau Merkel," he said. "America needs a big friend in the EU and Britain, for obvious reasons, can't be that friend any longer.

"But the pressure will also be on Merkel. For almost 70 years the Federal Republic of Germany has regarded the US not only as the guarantor of its liberty, but as its best friend and ally. If the US drops out of the German and EU equation, Germany will be pushed into unknown territory. This is not what Germans like."

"If anything goes wrong the consequences could be devastating both in terms of Germany's domestic politics and the weakness of West in the face of Russian advances. In short, the stakes could hardly be higher."