Merz Admits EU, US Deal Let Down Berlin’s Hopes

2025-09-10 03:23:29

(MENAFN) German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday conceded that the EU-US trade arrangement reached in July did not live up to Berlin’s aspirations, noting that Europeans were "not strong enough yet" to secure more favorable conditions with Washington.

Speaking to representatives of the German car sector at the Munich motor exhibition, Merz explained that he has been striving to ease trade frictions with the Donald Trump administration and to ultimately settle the conflict for good through solid, legally enforceable pacts.

“I admit that I would have preferred a different, a better outcome for us, for the Europeans, in the agreement with the United States,” Merz stated.

“But we are not yet strong enough in Europe to be able to decide on such issues autonomously, on an equal footing. We want to get there, and that is why we need a strong industry, but we also need competitiveness on a global scale,” he emphasized.

The conservative figure further stressed the necessity of widening trade ties and highlighted that the EU must follow an ambitious commercial policy strategy to reach this objective.

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