German officials remain worried about a shift to protectionism under Trump, despite his less confrontational rhetoric toward China and his decision to drop controversial plans for a border adjustment tax. A second German official said: "You shouldn't underestimate the influence of Trump on the Trump administration." Merkel has been sparring with Putin and Erdogan for over a decade and worked with two U.S. presidents before Trump. Both sides have played down the incident that dominated coverage of that visit: Trump's failure to shake Merkel's hand in the Oval Office. This outreach is especially important, German officials say, because top policy positions in the State Department remain unfilled more than three months since Trump took office.

Source: bd News24 May 16, 2017 09:33 UTC