Germany's economic advisers reject criticism of current account surplus

The German government's panel of economic advisers on Monday rejected international criticism of the country's large current account surplus and called US President Donald Trump's protectionist stance a threat to the global economy.
Trump's trade adviser Peter Navarro has accused Germany of exploiting a weak euro to gain a trade advantage and called for bilateral discussions to reduce the $65 billion US trade deficit with Germany which he described as "one of the most difficult" issues.
Chancellor Angela Merkel has rejected such criticism, saying her government was not in charge of the euro but the European Central Bank. During talks with Trump in Washington, Merkel also pointed to high investments by German companies in the United States.
The European Commission and the International Monetary Fund have also urged Germany to take advantage of record-low borrowing costs and increase investment as a measure to reduce the country's large trade and current account surpluses.
In 2016, the German trade surplus hit a fresh record at 253 billion euros. The wider current account surplus, which measures the flow of goods, services and investments into and out of a country, rose to an all-time high of 266 billion euros.