German Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed to seek a broad agreement on trade at next month's Group of 20 summit.
Merkel will host leaders of the G-20 powers in Hamburg on July 7-8 amid widespread concern over the Trump administration's "America first" approach to trade. In a speech to an annual German industry congress, she stressed the need to persuade others of the advantages of open markets and free and fair world trade.
"We will do everything to achieve as broad an agreement as possible on this in Hamburg," Merkel said. "In view of the new American administration that isn't easy, but we must make the effort nonetheless."
Merkel insisted that it offers a chance to set "common standards that others in the world wouldn't be able to get around so easily," given that a U.S.-EU accord would cover about 30% of world trade.
"I will continue to push for us to move forward here, for us not to put the project on ice but to try to take further steps," the AP cited her as saying.
