Berlin: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz Wednesday expressed cautious optimism about reaching an agreement soon in the ongoing dispute between the United States and the European Union over tariffs. Speaking before the German Bundestag (Parliament), Chancellor Merz stated that he is cautiously optimistic about the possibility of reaching an agreement in the coming days or by the end of this month.
According to Qatar News Agency, Merz added that their goal is to reach a trade agreement with the United States as soon as possible, an agreement that links mutual trade between the US and the EU with the lowest possible tariffs. He went on to say that achieving this goal is not easy given the current demands of the US government, noting that he is working diligently to find a solution. The European Commission has been negotiating with Washington for months over the tariff dispute.
The United States is one of the most important markets for German goods, particularly in the automotive and chemical sectors. President Trump caused a global shock last April by announcing the imposition of “reciprocal” tariffs on all countries, starting at a minimum of 10% and rising to 50% for countries deemed underperforming, those that export more to the US than they import from it. He later suspended the harsher tariffs for 90 days to allow time for negotiations. The final day of that grace period was set for Jul. 8, with the possibility of opening bilateral trade talks with individual countries.
In April, Trump had already imposed a basic 10% tariff on nearly all imports from the European Union. In addition, special tariffs were applied to specific products such as steel, aluminum, and automobile imports. Through his tariff policy, Trump aims, among other things, to boost domestic production in the United States. The European Union, in response, has frozen its threats of retaliatory tariffs while negotiations continue.
The US President had initially set Jul. 9, today, as the start date for the additional tariffs, but postponed the deadline to August 1 through an executive order issued last Monday.