German audience laughs after Trump Cabinet member's address is cut off

The attendees of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's political party's business conference in Berlin laughed and cheered when U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross's video address was cut off on Tuesday after Ross went over his time limit.

Ross's video feed at the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) conference was faded out after roughly 20 minutes for going over his time limit, after which attendees began to applaud and laugh at the move, The Hill reports.

"That was the U.S. secretary of commerce, who had promised us a 10-minute statement," the head of CDU Economic Council Werner Bahlsen said.

"As you saw, he spoke a bit slowly, so it took a bit longer. Now we look forward to the chancellor's speech," he continued.

The episode comes in the wake of escalating tension between the U.S. and Germany.

Earlier, Ross said the U.S. and the European Union should restart Transatlantic Trade an Investment Partnership (TTIP) talks.

"We, as major trading partners of each other, should have a free-trade agreement," he said.