German Chancellor Angela Merkel declined to say whether U.S. President Donald Trump told her the European Union would be subject to steel and aluminum tariffs after May 1 when an exemption is set to expire and responded diplomatically to questions on the Iran nuclear deal, saying that it should be improved.
"I believe that, obviously, this agreement is anything but perfect. It will not solve all the problems with Iran," she told reporters at the White House. "When the United Kingdom, France and Germany worked together with the American colleagues this was brought about, and we will now see what sort of decisions are made by American partners … Syria and Iran are countries that are right on our doorstep, so that is of prime importance for us, and we will continue to be in very close talks on this."
The U.S. administration is due to decide within weeks whether to abandon the Iran deal.
Merkel, who was in Washington on April 27 for a quick round of talks, deferred to Trump on trade questions. "The president will decide, that is very clear," Merkel said. "We had an exchange of views on the current state of affairs of the negotiations and the respective assessments on where we stand on this, and the decision lies with the president."
Canada and Mexico, among other countries, were also exempt from the initial tariffs.
Merkel's meeting with Trump followed an official state visit from French President Emmanuel Macron, during which Macron said a trade war would only eliminate jobs and hurt the middle class.
"A commercial war," Macron told a joint session of Congress on April 25, "is not consistent with our mission, with our history, with our current commitments for global security. At the end of the day, it will destroy jobs, increase prices and the middle class will have to pay for it."
In light of news that North and South Korean leaders are seeking a formal end to the Korean War, Trump said "something dramatic could happen" as relations between the United States and North Korea have appeared to improve.
"Things have changed very radically from a few months ago, Trump said. "They're treating us with great respect."
Trump said he wished the animosity in the region "were handled by another administration years ago," but added, "we will handle it."