EU officials appalled by how little Americans appeared to know about trade policy (Der Spiegel)

I just signed up for Der Spiegel's English international newsletter. Good to get a Euorpean perspective on things although it is embarrassing. I wish there were a way to show solidarity with them. I guess the marches do that to a certain extent, but I wonder if they know the level of anguish among many Americans. The ones who were around during Hitler's rise to power who were able to see the writing on the wall probably do.

Here's the article:

Trump in Brussels 'The Germans Are Bad, Very Bad'

At a meeting with European Union leaders on Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump was sharply critical of Germany. DER SPIEGEL spoke with meeting participants.
By Peter Müller in Brussels
May 26, 2017

"U.S. President Donald Trump voiced significant displeasure over Germany's trade surplus on Thursday during a meeting with European Union leaders in Brussels. "The Germans are bad, very bad," Trump said, according to meeting participants.
The participants told DER SPIEGEL that Trump went on to say: "See the millions of cars they are selling to the U.S. Terrible. We will stop this."

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker showed solidarity with the Germans at the meeting and contradicted Trump's rebuke. Free trade benefits everybody, Juncker said. Participants at the meeting who spoke with DER SPIEGEL said that Juncker tried to maintain a collegial tone, but remained uncompromising on that point.

snip

According to a report in the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung, many EU officials were appalled by how little the Americans appeared to know about trade policy. The guests from Washington seemed not to be aware that EU member states only negotiate trade treaties as a bloc. According to the paper, Trump's chief economic advisor, Gary Cohn, claimed during meetings, for example, that different customs tariffs are in place between the U.S. and Germany than between the U.S. and Belgium."

snip

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/trump-in-brussels-the-germans-are-bad-very-bad-a-1149330.html#ref=nl-international