This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Germans are sticklers for keeping on schedule. And those rules apply to the U.S. Cabinet as well.
While speaking via video to a business conference of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union on Tuesday, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross was cut off after 20 minutes.
Werner Bahlsen, head of the CDU Economic Council said "the U.S. secretary of commerce spoke a bit slowly, so it took a bit longer."
But it's hard to believe the content of Ross' speech didn't play a role in the shutdown.
He repeated the familiar Trump critique about Germany's trade surplus with the United States. He also blamed the World Trade Organization rules for favoring exporters over importers while calling for a free-trade agreement between the United States and Europe.
"As your biggest customer, we hope to obtain a larger share of your market," Ross said. "We, as major trading partners of each other, should have a free-trade agreement."
In her speech, Merkel rejected Ross' criticisms. She also called for German companies to invest in America.
The crowd's reaction to the cutoff was telling. When it happened, the blank screen was met with laughs and cheers.
And it's hardly a sign that relations between Germany and the United States are improving ahead of the upcoming G-20 summit in Hamburg, where Merkel and Trump will cross paths; the German chancellor has already warned the talks will be "controversial."