Schröder Returns to the White House

On Thursday morning --slightly delayed by plane troubles -- German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder left for a two-day trip to America. But once he arrives in the U.S., he'll waste no time getting down to business.

Schröder's first stop is Chicago, where he will give a speech in front of the Council on Foreign Relations on Thursday evening. The next day, he'll go to Washington, where U.S. President George W. Bush will host him at the White House -- Schröder's first official visit in more than two years. Since adamantly opposing the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the German leader's name has not been at the top of the guest list.

For the two leaders with opposing positions on Iraq, Schröder's reception at the White House may represent a significant warming of relations. But with contentious issues on the agenda -- Iraq reconstruction, the strong euro and trans-Atlantic trade -- there's still much that may divide the two.

Setting the tone in Chicago

In Chicago, Schröder's remarks will set the tone for the visit ahead, outlining positions on many issues, including trade policies and the strong euro.

The Chancellor is expected to lobby hard for free international trade, touching on the recent protectionist policies of the U.S., namely steel tariffs, which almost led to a full-fledged trade row between the United States and Europe. The chancellor will call for an end to export subsidies.

"The answer to the challenges of a global market can not be more protectionism in order to protect ourselves from the negative consequences," the chancellor will say, according to an early draft version of the speech. "Instead we must double and triple our efforts to maintain and improve our advantages."

In an interview with the Financial Times before his departure, Schröder also outlined his position on the strong euro, which will also be a main topic of conversation between the two leaders on Friday.

Increasingly, Schröder has appealed to the European Central Bank to act and reduce the affects of the strong common currency, but will he ask his U.S. counterpart to do the same? "The dollar-euro exchange rate, at least for the Europeans, is not satisfactory," he told the newspaper. "Only the central banks are in a position to change that, and I do not want to interfere in the policies of the U.S. Federal Reserve -- that is a matter for the Americans."

Tensions a thing of the past?

At the White House, trade and currency issues will be on the agenda, as will the ongoing situation in Iraq. However, also in the Financial Times interview, Schröder made clear that his position on the issue of German troops in Iraq had not changed. "The American government knows precisely where we stand," he said.

That doesn't mean the two leaders won't have much to discuss. Germany has offered to help with Iraq's debt relief as well as train policemen. Bush and Schröder will be looking for more areas of cooperation. The possibility of sending NATO troops to Iraq, however, remains a sticking point, as the German government prefers that a legitimate Iraqi government and a UN mandate be in place before they are deployed.

Will all the smiles, handshakes and talk of bygones at the White House really amount to a significant shift in U.S.-Germans relations? Not necessarily, say some observers. They suggest that Bush -- in an election year -- is reaching out to leaders of "Old Europe" in an attempt to deflect criticism from his opponents that his unilateral policies have alienated key allies.

This is not the start of a great love affair, but a strategic partnership, Stephen Silvia, a political scientist at American University, told the German radio station NDR. "The relationship between the two is not exactly warm, but businesslike, and, therefore, still somewhat clinical," he said.

A glorious end

Schröder's last stop will be Jackson, Mississippi, where he will attend the opening of the "Glory of Baroque Dresden" exhibition. The show focuses on the eastern German city's art treasures such as paintings by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Rubens and other Old Masters and Meissen porcelain. It's the first exhibition of Dresden art in the U.S. in a quarter century.