Merkel Ally Urges EU-U.S. Cooperation to Tackle ‘Unfair’ China Practices

  • It’s ‘time to talk’ about joint approach to China, Hardt says
  • Trump’s tariff exemption for EU will win time for trade talks

Juergen Hardt

Photographer: Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images

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Europe should use a reprieve with President Donald Trump in a simmering trade conflict to convince the U.S. to team up against China’s potentially “unfair” trade practices, according to a German government official.

Juergen Hardt, who oversees transatlantic coordination for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrat-led coalition, said the EU’s exemption from U.S. steel and aluminum levies will win “time to talk” about the risks presented by a more assertive China in global commerce.