Quote The close friendship between America and Germany is built on our shared values. … It is the foundation of a very, very hopeful future.

A CLOSE AND HISTORIC RELATIONSHIP: The relationship between the German people and the United States predates America’s independence and extends to the deep bond the two countries share today.

The United States and Germany form the bedrock of the transatlantic relationship and the NATO Alliance, based on shared values of freedom, democracy, and human rights.

On October 6, 1683, 13 German families landed in Philadelphia and went on to found the first German settlement in America: Germantown, Pennsylvania.

Today, there are more than 44 million Americans of German heritage, comprising the United States’ largest ancestry group. President Trump is the proud grandson of German immigrants to the United States. Other notable Americans of German heritage include President Eisenhower, Neil Armstrong, Levi Strauss, Amelia Earhart, and Babe Ruth.

President Trump and Chancellor Merkel last met in July in Hamburg, Germany, when the Chancellor hosted the President at the G20 Summit. This visit by the Chancellor will be her second to the White House during Donald Trump’s tenure as President of the United States.



COOPERATION ON JOBS AND TRADE: The United States and Germany have a deep trade and investment relationship, and the President and Chancellor Merkel have worked to enhance economic cooperation through collaboration on apprenticeships and women’s financial empowerment.

Germany has long been a leader with respect to its highly successful apprenticeship programs.

During Chancellor Merkel’s March 2017 visit to the White House, President Trump convened a group of U.S. and German business leaders to join the Chancellor and the President for a discussion on vocational training. At the meeting, major companies announced that they would train thousands through apprenticeship programs and invest hundreds of millions of dollars in training.

In Hamburg, the President joined Ivanka Trump and Chancellor Merkel to announce a $50 million contribution from the United States to an initiative to empower women financially around the world.

In 2017, Germany and the United States conducted over $237 billion in total trade in goods and services. In 2017, the U.S. exported $53.5 billion in goods to Germany.

In the first two months of 2018, the United States exported $9 billion in goods to Germany, an increase of almost $1 billion over the same period in 2017.

In 2016, German direct investment in the United States was valued at over $372 billion, with $14 billion in new investment.

In 2015, U.S. affiliates of German firms employed over 670,000 American workers and invested $7.2 billion in innovative research and development.

A PARTNER ON INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AND COUNTERTERRORISM: Germany has been a valuable partner to the United States in the fight to eliminate ISIS and counter foreign threats.