Berlin (dpa) – German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier is to travel to the United States next week to hold talks with members of the US administration responsible for climate policy and trade, Altmaier’s spokeswoman said in Berlin on Thursday.
Altmaier is scheduled to leave for Washington on Wednesday and return to Germany on Friday. He will be the first German minister to visit Washington since President Joe Biden was inaugurated. The coronavirus pandemic had previously stood in the way of visits.
Talks have been scheduled with John Kerry, the special presidential envoy for climate, and Katherine Tai, the US trade representative.
Altmaier is to sound out the options for closer bilateral cooperation with Kerry, the spokeswoman said, following the US decision to re-enter the Paris Climate Accord. The German minister has long backed a “climate alliance” between the US and the European Union.
Customs duties are likely to form a key part of discussions with Tai. The EU and US decided on Tuesday to lift punitive duties on aircraft, wine and ketchup up to 2026 as talks proceed on state subsidies to Boeing in the US and Airbus in the EU.
A dispute on special duties on steel and aluminium imposed by Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, remains to be resolved.
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