Priorities in Transatlantic Relations (April 20, 2010)

Priorities in Transatlantic Relations
AmCham Germany Parliamentary Reception
Berlin, April 20, 2010
Ambassador Philip D. Murphy

Lutz, Fred, as always it is a pleasure to participate in an AmCham event.  AmCham is one of the mainstays of the German-American partnership.  Speaking for the entire staff of Mission Germany – the Embassy and our five Consulates – let me say how proud we are to be associated with the AmCham.  The Chamber – its staff and members – make an important contribution to economic growth and prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic.

Martin Koehler, Kimberly Lein-Mathisen, it’s a pleasure to meet you both.  I am looking forward to your presentations. 

Ich freue mich sehr, dass der Bundestag und die deutsche Regierung heute Abend so zahlreich vertreten sind.  Präsident Obama und Bundeskanzlerin Merkel haben es gesagt: Kein Land kann die globalen Herausforderungen des 21. Jahrhunderts allein bewältigen.  Unsere Länder benötigen beide starke Partner.  Wir haben viel zu tun – in den Vereinigten Staaten, in Deutschland, in Europa und überall auf der Welt.  Die Liste der Themen ist lang.  Einige Themen sind global und machen ein starkes transatlantisches Engagement erforderlich.  Andere Herausforderungen erscheinen vielleicht national. Aber wenn es eine Lektion gibt, die wir im 21. Jahrhundert gelernt haben, ist es folgende: Rein lokale Probleme oder Lösungen gibt es nicht. 

[I am very pleased that the Bundestag and the German government are so well represented this evening.  As both President Obama and Chancellor Merkel have said, no nation can deal with the global challenges of the 21st century alone.   Both of our two countries need strong partners.   We have a lot on our plates – in the United States, in Germany, in Europe, and around the world.  The list of issues is long.  In some cases, the issues are global in nature and require a robust transatlantic commitment.   In other cases, although challenges may be domestic in nature, if there is one lesson of the 21st century, it is that there is no such thing as a purely local problem or solution.]

In my view, there is also often no such thing as a quick solution to the complex issues countries around the world face.   A commitment to long-term goals based on enduring and shared values is one of the main characteristics of President Obama’s foreign policy strategy.  Nations, like individuals or companies, must stick to a handful of core objectives and initiatives and not be swayed by the trend or fashion of the day.  There are peaks and valleys in life – in both the lives of nations and our personal and professional lives.  It would be wrong to extrapolate from either of those extremes or define the future based on a trend of the moment.  In terms of approaching our foreign policy priorities, Secretary Clinton says that we have to deal with “the urgent, the important, and the long-term all at once.”  I would plead in all cases never to forget and always to consider the long-term element.

There are a number of issues of importance on the transatlantic agenda.  Don’t worry, Fred, I am not going to list them all.  But I would like to briefly mention the three broad areas that Chancellor Merkel examined in a speech she gave to faculty and students last week at Stanford University.
 
First, the Chancellor spoke about security and the common responsibility that nations share in building a world that is safer and more secure.   President Obama announced a year ago his commitment to a world without nuclear weapons.  This is a goal that may not be achieved in our lifetimes but in the past two weeks, we have made some very important steps.   It is clear that nuclear weapons pose a very different threat, in many ways much more grave than during the Cold War.   For that reason it is our shared position regarding Iran’s nuclear program is clear: All states, including Iran, have the same rights and the same responsibilities.   According to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, nations have the right to nuclear power so long as they accept the responsibility of demonstrating unequivocally that their programs are used solely for peaceful civilian purposes.   Today the possibility of terrorists obtaining a nuclear weapon is the "single biggest threat" to U.S. and world security.   A nuclear weapon in the hands of a terrorist is a danger to people everywhere – from Berlin to Washington; from cities in North America and Europe to the Middle East and South Asia. 

This is an era which therefore requires new tools.  Data sharing relating to security cooperation is, in my opinion, one of the most important issues on German-American bilateral agenda.   Over the past months, I have had many discussions regarding the Treasury Department’s Terrorist Finance Tracking Program, known as the SWIFT agreement, with the German government.  I have also met with representatives from the private sector and we have discussed how data privacy issues affect business activity here in Germany.   I have come away from these discussions convinced that many of the perceived disagreements between Europeans and Americans over the SWIFT agreement on data privacy arise from misunderstandings about what is really a shared commitment to the most basic values that protect the privacy of individuals in free societies.  

As Chancellor Merkel said last week in Stanford, in today’s world, “Sicherheit ist die Voraussetzung dafür, dass wir in Freiheit leben können.”  Germans and others around the world may not understand the mission in Afghanistan, but the presence of our troops there guarantees our freedom and our security.   Indeed, on both sides of the Atlantic, our citizens wonder why our soldiers must die in far-off Afghanistan.  Why should the Middle East or Iran or China matter to people in Berlin or in my hometown in New Jersey?  Unfortunately, it is because in today’s world, problems on the other side of the world can very quickly translate into local threats.   It is in our collective interest to help other countries on the path to peace and prosperity.
 
Chancellor Merkel also spoke of the importance of multilateral cooperation not just in security defense, but also on economic issues.   We have taken historic steps toward reforming our international economic architecture.  The G20 has now become an important forum for international economic cooperation.   The transatlantic partnership has been essential in this process.  Now that we are on the brink of economic recovery, we must continue to work together to ensure that the recovery can be sustained.  Fixing the system is essential to preventing another crisis of the magnitude that we experienced last year.

Despite a drop in German-U.S. trade of almost 25% in 2009 over 2008, trade flows are slowly returning to pre-crisis levels. The United States is still Germany’s largest trading partner outside the EU and the third important trading partner overall.  Germany’s exports to the U.S. are still more than one third higher than German exports to China.  Germany remains the U.S.'s most important trading partner in the EU.  And, I hope with our parallel efforts – the National Export Initiative (NEI) and the German Aussenwirtschaftsinitiative -- our trade will flourish in the years ahead.  This is not about a zero sum game, but rather about economic growth that will benefit both of us.

The United States is Germany’s number one investment target.   Thirty percent of German foreign investment goes to the United States.   U.S. direct investment in Germany in 2008 was over $100 billion.  While in California, Chancellor Merkel visited the offices and labs of German firms like Volkswagen, SAP and Bayer Health Science.  As a scientist herself, she was very impressed by the level of innovation she saw there.  Both of our countries have led the way in terms of innovation and invention over the last century.  Chancellor Merkel reminded the Stanford students that Germany invented the automobile, the fax machine and, yes, also the first MP3 player. 
Today in a globalized world, innovation can pay off for everybody if the rules of the road – the rules concerning trade, foreign investment, financial regulation, science-based regulations – that these rules are clear and understandable.  For that reason, foreign investment benefits our economies.   I am proud of the example our two countries set in the various international fora that have become so important to a healthy and sustainable 21st century economy – whether that be in the context of the Transatlantic Economic Council or the G20.

Speaking of innovation, both Germany and the United States have been leaders in environmental innovation for decades.  On Thursday, we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day – and the start of the modern environmental movement.  Germany has been particularly successful in “greening” its economy, especially when it comes to reducing CO2 emissions and promoting renewable energies.    But it is clear that we must do more.  The world is in greater peril than ever before.  President Obama describes climate change, as “one of the defining challenges of our time.”  It also presents great opportunity – in fact unprecedented opportunities to build a healthy, prosperous, clean energy economy now and for the future.   We are at an important turning point.  A successful climate policy is indeed, to quote Chancellor Merkel, “peace policy for the world." The protection of our climate will be a central test of how and if we can, as free and developed societies, bring about freedom, solidarity and partnership across continents. 

I would recommend to all of you that you read a copy of the Chancellor’s remarks at Stanford University.  Throughout her speech, she always came back to one central theme —freedom.  Not surprising in the context of her personal and political history.  Her thesis was that freedom can only flourish with international cooperation aimed at making the world safer, cleaner and more economically stable. 

Zum Schluss möchte ich noch einen Teil meiner persönlichen politischen Bildung mit Ihnen teilen.  Letzte Woche war ich ein paar Tage bei unserem Generalkonsulat in Leipzig.  Meine Kollegen fuhren mit mir unter anderem nach Erfurt und Weimar.  Ich habe mit Lehrern, Schülern, Studenten und Professoren, mit Unternehmern und Journalisten gesprochen.  Bei einer Veranstaltung im Stasi-Museum in Leipzig habe ich mit den Revolutionären von 1989 gesprochen.  Wir haben über die Privatsphäre und individuelle Entscheidungsfreiheit in einer Welt voller neuer Herausforderungen diskutiert.  Überall bin ich demselben Engagement für politische und persönliche Freiheit begegnet, wie man es von Angela Merkel kennt.  Ich habe letzte Woche viel über Deutschland und sein Bekenntnis zur Freiheit gelernt – ein Bekenntnis, das aus einer langen und schwierigen Geschichte entstanden ist.  Ich bin überzeugt, dass die Menschen, die Bundeskanzlerin Merkel letzte Woche in Washington und Kalifornien traf, dieses Bekenntnis auch gespürt haben.  Ich hoffe, dass die Studenten in Stanford besonders beeindruckt waren, denn das Motto ihrer Universität lautet: “Die Luft der Freiheit weht!"  Das Zitat geht zurück auf die Zeit der Reformation und Martin Luthers.  Es bringt einen tiefen Respekt vor der Menschenwürde, vor Wissen und Innovationen zum Ausdruck – und ist heute noch so relevant wie im 15. Jahrhundert.  Leider hat sich die "Luft" diese Woche nicht kooperativ gezeigt.  Hoffentlich hat Bundeskanzlerin Merkel bei ihrer nächsten USA-Reise eine direktere Reiseverbindung.  Vielen Dank für Ihre Aufmerksamkeit.

[In conclusion, let me share with you part of my own personal political education.  Last week, I spent a number of days at our Consulate General in Leipzig.  My colleague took me to Erfurt and Weimar, among other places.   I met with teachers, students and professors, with entrepreneurs and journalists.  I spoke with the revolutionaries of 1989 at an event at the Stasi Museum in Leipzig.  We debated the concepts of individual privacy and choice in a world beset by new challenges.   Everywhere I encountered the same brand of dedication to political and personal freedom as Angela Merkel.  I learned a lot last week about Germany and its commitment to freedom – a commitment that was born out of a long and difficult history.   I am convinced that the people that Chancellor Merkel met last week in Washington and California also felt that commitment.  For the students at Stanford, I hope it was particularly meaningful in light of the university’s motto: “Die Luft der Freiheit weht!"  The quotation dates back to the time of the Reformation and Martin Luther.  It characterizes respect for human dignity, knowledge and innovation – and is as relevant today as in the 15th century.  Unfortunately the “Luft” has not been cooperative this week.   Hopefully on her next visit to the United States, Chancellor Merkel will have a more direct travel connection.  Thank you for your attention.]