German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that it is necessary to use the time remaining until August 1 to find a solution to the trade dispute between the EU and the United States.
Merz noted that, like French President Emmanuel Macron, he is in favor of introducing large-scale retaliatory tariffs against the United States if the situation does not change.
“Not before August 1, however. I actively discussed this over the weekend with Macron and Ursula von der Leyen, and on Friday with the US president. We want to use the two and a half weeks until August 1 to find a solution“, the German Chancellor said in an interview with ARD television.
Merz acknowledged that if an agreement is not reached, this will have serious consequences for the German economy. "If this happens, we will have to put a significant part of our economic policy efforts on the back burner, because it will overshadow everything else and deal a severe blow to Germany's export sector," the German chancellor summed up.
US President Donald Trump earlier announced that the US would impose 30% tariffs on EU goods imported into the US from August 1. The announcement stressed that the new tariffs would be introduced "separately from the sectoral tariffs", which currently stand at 10% for EU goods.
The EC said that such tariffs on European exports would undermine key transatlantic supply chains. A statement published by the EC press service stressed that "the EU will continue to try to reach an agreement with the US until August 1, while preparing countermeasures".