"My administration is in the process of rebuilding the American industrial base. A stronger America is in the interest, believe me, of the world as a whole," Trump told reporters at a joint news conference with the visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Germany and the United States, he said, must work together towards fair and reciprocal trade policies that benefit people of both the countries.
He rejected a description of his policies as "isolationist."
"I'm a free trader but also a fair trader," he said.
On immigration, another issue dividing Merkel and the new US president, Trump said immigration was a "privilege" and not a "right.
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