Chancellor
Merz to customs dispute with the USA: EU negotiated too complicated
The clock ticks, there is not much time left for a negotiating solution with the United States. The EU Commission is responsible. The Chancellor finds clear words.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz has asked the EU Commission to deal with a different procedure in customs negotiations with the United States. The European Union “negotiates too complicated,” said the CDU politician at the day of industry in Berlin. The Americans are designed to make appointments to four or five large industries. “But now negotiating 400, 500, 600 different customs codes with the Americans is the wrong time with the wrong topic. We now need quick joint decisions for four or five large industries,” said Merz and named the automotive industry, chemistry, pharmaceutical, mechanical engineering. These are areas that are existentially important for Germany.
He believes that this can be achieved, said Merz. “It has to go faster now, it has to be easier above all. It shouldn’t be so complicated. We do not want the best of the best, we want the most important thing about the necessary.”
90-day break for certain tariffs ends soon
The EU Commission has negotiations with the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump had recently decided on the stock and financial markets to grant a break from certain tariffs for 90 days after great turbulence- on July 9th. The time window is to be used for negotiations.
Merz had confident about a trade deal with the United States until July 9 last week on the edge of the G7 summit in Canada – but not for all areas. It will be “not a very comprehensive agreement”, but will only affect a few large industries.
Shortly after taking office, Trump had started a new trade conflict with the announcement of new tariffs on imports from the EU. He wants to correct alleged trade weights with the tariffs and shift productions to the United States. The EU, on the other hand, sees the tariff as not justified.
dpa
Source: Stern
