Germany welcomes talks with U.S. on trade despite differences

BERLIN (Reuters) - It is good that the United States and Europe are maintaining dialogue despite their differences, a German government spokeswoman said on Monday ahead of a meeting of U.S. President Donald Trump with the president of the European Commission.

Citing national security grounds, Washington imposed tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from the EU, Canada and Mexico on June 1, and Trump is threatening to extend them to EU cars and car parts.

A spokeswoman for the German Economy Ministry said: "We want to avoid a spiral of tariffs."

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will discuss trade with Trump at a meeting on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Michelle Martin and Riham Alkousaa; Editing by Maria Sheahan)