President Barack Obama will visit Germany in April to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in an effort to boost U.S.-European trade and investment, the White House said Wednesday.
The proposed U.S.-European Union free trade agreement, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, is the biggest free-trade pact in history and has been met with vocal opposition on both sides of the Atlantic.
The negotiations are aimed at reducing barriers to trade and investment and would provide economic gains of up to $134 billion for the EU and $107 billion for the U.S., according to a study by the Center for Economic Policy Research.
Obama will visit Hannover, Germany, to also participate in the Hannover Messe, “the world’s largest trade show for industrial technology,” involving “6,500 exhibitors and 200,000 visitors, in order to “highlight the Unites States as a prime investment destination,” the White House said.
This will be the President’s fifth trip to Germany, only France has been visited more times by the President.