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ByKenThomas and Jill Colvin The Associated Press WASHINGTON Though presenting a study in con- trasts, President Donald Trump and German Chan- cellor Angela Merkel took a similar tack Friday in side- stepping differences after their first meeting at the White House. Trump as- serted with a smile they had at least one thing in com- mon: being wiretapped by the Obama administration. Trump, the celebrity real estate developer and former reality television star, repeated his conten- tion that former Presi- dent Barack Obama may have tapped his phones in Trump Tower. He sought to turn the explosive charge into a light joke when asked about con- cerns raised by the Brit- ish government that the White House is now citing a debunked claim that U.K. spies snooped on Trump. "At least we have some- thing in common, perhaps," Trump said casually, refer- ring to 2014 reports that the U.S. was monitoring Merkel's cellphone conver- sations. As for the most re- cent report, Trump said he shouldn't be blamed for quoting a Fox News analyst who had accused British in- telligence of helping Obama spy on him. The German chancellor maintained her composure during the awk- ward diplomatic moment. When a German reporter asked Trump if he regrets any of his commentary on Twitter, Trump said, "Very seldom." On another subject, Trump also pushed back against the notion in Eu- rope that his "America First" agenda means he's an isolationist, responding firmly, "I don't believe in an isolationist policy." The president appeared to bris- tle at the suggestion from a German reporter, adding, "I don't know what newspaper you're reading, but I guess that would be another ex- ample of, as you say, fake news." Merkel often attempted to project a more concilia- tory approach, saying she and Trump had not yet had much time to discuss eco- nomic issues. She said the "success of Germans has always been one where the German success is one side of the coin and the other side of the coin has been European unity and Eu- ropean integration. That's something of which I'm deeply convinced." Those comments ap- peared aimed at making a case to Trump on the bene- fits of the European Union. Trump backed Britain's de- parture from the EU and has expressed skepticism of multilateral trade agree- ments. The two leaders tried to express their common bonds but showed minimal rapport in their first en- counter, a departure from Merkel's warm relations with Obama during his eight years as president. During a photo op in the Oval Office, the two did not shake hands before report- ers. At the start of the news conference, Merkel sought to break the ice, saying that it was "much better to talk to one another than about one another." Merkel said delicately that while she represents German interests, Trump "stands up for, as is right, American interests. That is our task respectively." She said they were "trying to address also those areas where we disagree but tried to bring people together." "We need to be fair with each other," Merkel said, saying both countries were expecting "that something good comes out of it for their own people." The meetings at the White House included dis- cussions on strengthening NATO, fighting the Islamic State group, the conflict in Afghanistan and resolving Ukraine's conflict, all mat- ters that require close co- operation between the U.S. and Germany. The talks, postponed from Tuesday because of a snowstorm, aimed to rep- resent a restart of a rela- tionship complicated by Trump's rhetoric on the campaign trail. As a candi- date, Trump frequently ac- cused the chancellor of "ru- ining" Germany for allow- ing an influx of refugees and other migrants from Syria and accused his cam- paign rival, Hillary Clinton, of wanting to be "America's Angela Merkel." WHITE HOUSE Trump,Merkeltrytosidestepdifferencesinmeeting PABLOMARTINEZMONSIVAIS—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel participate in a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on Friday. By David Mchugh The Associated Press BADEN-BADEN, GERMANY Top finance officials in- cluding new U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are debating what stance to take on free trade at a meet- ing that will help set the tone for the global economy. The gathering of finance ministers and central bank heads from the Group of 20 countries has focused on shifting attitudes to- ward trade, particularly af- ter U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to impose border taxes and rewrite free trade deals he says have shortchanged the U.S. Mnuchin has said trade needs to be "fair," which would be a step back from the group's previous blan- ket condemnation of trade barriers. Attention at the two-day meeting in the German spa town of Baden-Baden has centered on a joint state- ment that is being prepared for Saturday. Early drafts have dropped an earlier ban on protectionism, but there was no agreement on what would replace it, said offi- cials who briefed reporters Friday on condition of an- onymity because the talks were ongoing. The meeting's host, Ger- man Finance Minister Wolf- gang Schaeuble, told re- porters that the discussion was about "the right formu- lation regarding the open- ness of the world economy." The last such gathering, in July 2016 in Chengdu, China, issued a strong state- ment in favor of free trade, saying "we will resist all forms of protectionism." Possible replacements in- clude support for "fairness." Angel Gurria, secretary- general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, down- played differences over the exact language. The OECD is one of several interna- tional organizations in- vited to participate in the meeting. Gurria said it was "im- portant to create a comfort zone" where leaders could have their first discussions with the new administra- tion, "to make them feel that this is a place where we can talk, we can ven- tilate the areas where we have common ground and the areas where we may have differences." European countries and others that depend on ex- ports, such as China, were said to be pushing for a stronger statement in favor of trade with fewer tariffs and other barriers in a rule- based system. The gathering will help set the tone for in- ternational commerce and finance and will give Mnuchin a chance to clar- ify what the U.S. position is. The G-20 is an informal forum on economic cooper- ation made up of 19 coun- tries with more than 80 per- cent of the world economy, plus the European Union. The finance ministers' meeting will pave the way for a summit of national leaders in Hamburg, Ger- many, on July 7-8. Trump has repeatedly emphasized that the U.S. needs a tougher approach to trade that would put Ameri- can workers and companies first. He has already pulled the U.S. out of the pro- posed Trans-Pacific Part- nership agreement with Japan and other Pacific Rim countries and he has started the process to rene- gotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada, both of whom are G-20 members. In a visit to Berlin ahead of the G-20 meeting, Mnuchin said the U.S. is in- terested in trade that is not only free but fair. ECONOMY US, global partners wrestle over Trump's trade stance at G-20 gathering | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM SATURDAY, MARCH 18, 2017 6 B