Merkel rejects U.S. comments, says Germany cannot influence euro

Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday (January 31) rejected a U.S. trade adviser’s charge that Germany was using an “undervalued” euro to gain advantage, saying her government had always called on the European Central Bank to pursue an independent policy.

“Germany is a country that has always called for the European Central Bank to pursue an independent policy, just as the Bundesbank did that before the euro existed,” Merkel told a news conference with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven.

“Because of that we will not influence the behaviour of the ECB. And as a result, I cannot and do not want to change the situation as it is,” she added.

Peter Navarro, the head of Trump’s new National Trade Council, told the Financial Times newspaper that the euro was like an “implicit Deutsche Mark” whose low valuation gave Germany a competitive advantage over its main partners.