Berlin: The US has received strong warning from Germany against an attempt by the former to divide European Union on trade. The warnings came amid US trying to pursue protectionist policies. But the German officials who issued the warning, said that they will be consistent in their efforts to avert US plans for steel and aluminium tariffs.

Handelsblatt newspaper quoted Economy Minister of Germany as saying that Washington’s attempt to drive a wedge between European countries and Germany with import tariffs will be halted and said that the attempt will harm both producers as well as consumers.

The minister Altmaier, who will arrive in Washington on Monday, informed that he had already prepared for his meetings with concerned US officials and is in close coordination with EU Trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom.

“We are a customs union and act jointly. It cannot be in the interest of the US government to divide Europe, and it also would not succeed,” Altmaier, one of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s closest conservative allies, said in an interview to the paper.

“Protectionism could harm the future growth prospects of the world economy” warned New finance minister Olaf Scholz, who is a member of the Social Democrats, junior partner in Merkel’s coalition government.

He also told reporters en route for his meeting of G20 finance ministers in Argentina, he would meet US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin over the planned US tariffs along with Germany’s opposition.

US President Donald Trump’s plans to impose tariffs for imported steel and aluminium and to levy a tax on imported European cars till the EU removes tariffs and trade barriers on many of its goods, is being opposed hardly by EU and German officials.

In a telephone call, Mekel and Chinese President Xi Jinping underscored the multilateral cooperatin and vowed to get solutions for excess capacity in the steel market around the world within the framework of the G20

The newspaper also quoted Altmaier as saying that the EU is still open to discuss many of the specific areas where the US or other countries felt they are not getting what they deserve. “Free trade clearly isn’t perfect,” he said.

He also said that he would discuss about the tolls on German cars during the meetings in Washington.

As soon as the US President took power in US, he confirmed his commitment to serve country’s interest on priority basis. In many of his steps, this step is also seen as an attempt to counter what US considers to be an unfair treatment in many of the deals it does with other countries. But other quarters term all these efforts to be of selfish origin without any considerations for the policies of respective countries.