 German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Monday for the European Union and the United States to forge closer ties, and won firm US backing for her initiative to strengthen transatlantic trade relations. Merkel told a forum on globalisation the EU and the United States should foster closer trade relations, and also work together on issues such as combating terrorism and tackling climate change. "We live in a time, in which I think one can say that no one can tackle the new challenges alone -- neither the European Union, nor the United States," said Merkel, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency for the first half of this year. Isolationist tendencies on both sides of the Atlantic with regard to globalisation should be resisted, she said. "I am deeply convinced, that this is the wrong way entirely," she said, adding that she hoped a free trade deal could be reached. "I hope that we can use the little remaining time to make progress here." The World Trade Organisation (WTO) launched its Doha round of negotiations in 2001 to cut barriers to trade around the world as a way to lift millions of people out of poverty and boost the global economy. But it risks further long delays or even collapse if an agreement cannot be reached soon, top trade officials say. US Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt said Washington wanted a free trade deal. "Our common highest priority in the trade arena remains success in the Doha round, to which both Germany and the United States are active and committed," he told the forum. German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck took a downbeat view of the trade negotiations on Friday, saying he was more pessimistic about making headway in talks on the Doha round after meeting US Congress members in Washington. The Doha talks have been mired for years in differences over agricultural subsidies and tariffs on farm goods. The US National Farmers Union, which represents smaller farm interests, is lobbying for a complete withdrawal from Doha. As well as seeking a free trade deal, Merkel wants to expand trade flows between the United States and the EU by reducing regulatory and other "non-tariff" trade barriers in areas ranging from financial markets to energy and the environment. The trade initiative won firm US support. "The US strongly supports the Merkel initiative," Kimmitt told reporters. EU and German officials have stressed Merkel is not proposing a traditional free trade zone that would eliminate tariffs across the Atlantic and tackle other difficult issues such as agricultural trade reform. But there are opportunities in sectors such as automotive and medicine to reduce costs by eliminating duplicative testing procedures, German officials say. "Our goal is straightforward and clear: reduce regulatory burdens on both sides of the Atlantic to the greatest extent possible, then converge, harmonise, or mutually recognise the fewer regulations that remain," Kimmitt said. He said the United States and the EU hoped to deliver an initial set of concrete results by an EU-US summit in Washington on April 30. One accord within reaching distance was a deal on liberalising transatlantic air travel, he said.