Siemens boss says Trump will offer support for reconstruction projects in Middle East

The German conglomerate’s CEO Joe Kaeser told CNBC on Thursday that despite rising trade tensions between the US and Europe, he had met with Trump and other US officials and had clarified that Siemens would not be caught in the crossfire.

The American market is key for Siemens, with around 60,000 US workers on its payrolls and a further 100,000 employed indirectly. Its operations in the States were also its largest anywhere.

“I said ‘look, we have good American workers working for us in the US, if we go to Iraq, if we go to Syria, if we help rebuild that country, then I want to be treated as a US company going out and helping those people to get back in line’,” Kaeser told CNBC.

“He [Trump] said ‘well that is a fair point — if you create jobs, you’re part of us’. It didn’t look like that in Iraq, as you know was a bit bumpy, but there was good commitment, and that is comfortable,” Kaeser added.

“I have to say the US government has been very decisive about what their plans are, so you can decide whether you are part of it or not.”