The unilateralism acts taken by the United States, including the sweeping tariffs, will ultimately disrupt the world trade order, and undermine the interests of the United States itself as well, said representatives from German businesses.
Rainer Nitsche, former Magdeburg City Commissioner for Economy, Tourism and Regional Cooperation, said in an interview with China Central Television (CCTV) that the U.S. tariff measures violate the basic principles of free market and negatively impact the global economy.
"Tariff measures are economic poison. They destroy the world order, destroy the global trading system, and violate all market economic principles, so they should be condemned. Global prosperity will suffer for this, and the loss of prosperity will be felt by the people of United States first," he said.
German entrepreneurs also called for more cooperation, as the U.S. policies led to major challenges for German companies at the administrative level, which made many German companies increasingly cautious in their export strategies to the United States.
"There is opportunity in every crisis. This means countries that have never worked together closely are coming together. I think this is a great opportunity for Germany and Europe. It's wonderful that China is also getting closer to us, which offers new possibilities for co-creation. Overall, we must realize the world is a whole system. We should strive to involve all countries and uphold the concept of 'together and not against each other; cooperation despite competition,'" said Angelika Pachl-Mix, a German entrepreneur.
US tariffs disrupt world trade order: German entrepreneurs
A Japanese lawmaker has raised concerns over Japan's push to expand its military and its nuclear policy.
Responding to some politicians' dangerous tendency towards possessing nuclear weapons, Takara Sachika, a member of Japan's House of Councilors, said that Japan's push to strengthen its military, combined with what she called a misguided nuclear policy, not only heightens regional tensions but also directly threatens regional security.
"I think this is completely unacceptable. Japan is a country that has suffered atomic bombings and is one of the nations most aware of the threat posed by nuclear weapons. Yet such a country is openly discussing the issue of possessing nuclear weapons and even attempting to revise the principle of not allowing the introduction of nuclear weapons, one of the Three Non-Nuclear Principles. This is an extremely serious problem," Takara said.
Takara said the Japanese government's tendency to expand its military capabilities is completely contrary to the Constitution.
"From the perspective of Japan's Constitution, Japan should never have adopted a policy of ensuring security by strengthening military capabilities. Yet today, enormous effort is being poured into military expansion, and that in itself is a serious problem," said the lawmaker.
At a Diet meeting in early November 2025, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that what she described as the Chinese central authorities' "use of force on Taiwan" could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, and suggested the possibility of armed intervention in the Taiwan Strait, drawing strong criticism worldwide.
Takara urged Takaichi to retract her erroneous remarks as soon as possible.
"I think there is a very big problem with making such remarks that provoke other countries. It is necessary to thoroughly examine the facts as soon as possible and withdraw the relevant remarks," she said.
Japanese lawmaker criticizes nuclear weapons remarks as threat to regional security
