Reuters reports that German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said that Germany hopes that trade barriers between the United States and Europe will be dismantled once the new administration under President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

"I hope from the bottom of my heart that the new U.S. administration will help us broker a consensus on the trade relationship between the United States and the EU," Altmaier said in Berlin.

Altmaier said that also applied to Europe's trade partners in China and other parts of Asia, adding: "We made clear to them that we cannot accept dumping practices and that we insist on fair and open markets."

On Sunday, 15 Asia-Pacific economies formed the world's largest free trade bloc, a China-backed deal that excludes the United States.