German Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil urged the U.S. to reach a fair tariff agreement with the EU on Tuesday, or risk retaliatory action from the EU to protect its interests.
While presenting the fiscal budget to the German Bundestag, Klingbeil reinforced the EU’s commitment to a fair tariff agreement with the U.S., emphasizing that any deal must serve mutual interests.
The U.S.' imposition of additional tariffs jeopardizes employment on both sides of the Atlantic, which is harmful to everyone and must be resolved as soon as possible, he said.
He called for EU members to stand united as the only way to address global challenges.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz previously stated that the German government supports taking a tougher stance against the U.S.
He said that if no agreement is reached between the EU and the U.S., Germany will take countermeasures to defend its own interests, stressing that if the current trade dispute escalates further, it will be detrimental to either party.
Christian Forwick, director of the Foreign Economic Policy Department of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, recently expressed concerns over the uncertainty and unpredictability of U.S. tariff policies. He said if tariffs change every few weeks, companies doing business across the Atlantic will be unable to make plans.
Though the results of the tariff negotiations between the EU and the U.S. are yet to be announced, the negotiation process seems to show that the two sides have evident differences.
As an export-oriented economy, Germany hopes to expedite the negotiations and reach agreements in areas such as automotive, machinery manufacturing and chemicals as soon as possible. Otherwise, prolonged negotiations will jeopardize the country's economic growth.
German Vice Chancellor pushes for fair EU-US tariff deal amid tensions
German Vice Chancellor pushes for fair EU-US tariff deal amid tensions
