BERLIN, March 16 (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel is dispatching her economy minister to the United States to try sway the U.S. administration to rethink plans to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, Germany's public broadcaster ARD reported on Friday.
Economy Minister Peter Altmaier's trip to Washington on Sunday signals the risk to its economy that Germany sees in the threatened tariffs, which Merkel has said breach the principles of the World Trade Organisation.
Altmaier's spokesman confirmed he would fly to the United States, but gave no details on who he would meet. ARD said Altmaier also wants to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump's administration not to expand the tariffs to imports other than steel and aluminium.
(Writing by Joseph Nasr Editing by Paul Carrel)