Dirk Jandura, head of the German Foreign and Wholesale Trade Association (BGA), has proposed the creation of an international alliance to protect free trade from the US ;rjd, a kind of “trade NATO“.
“If tariffs are used as a political weapon, Europe can fight them together“, Jandura said, according to the Handelsblatt newspaper. The expert proposed the creation of a NATO-style trade alliance – “trade NATO“ – involving the EU and other countries, to counteract tariffs such as those imposed by US President Donald Trump. “Power politics through tariff dictation should no longer have a place”, Jandura said.
“Trade NATO“, believes he could help in the face of global isolation. The alliance could bring together the EU and the Trans-Pacific Partnership countries, which include Australia, Canada and Japan. Under Jandura's plan, Russia, the United States and China would be excluded from this alliance. The alliance could jointly respond to “tariff attacks“, using a mechanism similar to Article 5 of the NATO treaty. Tariff attacks that violate World Trade Organization (WTO) principles would be considered attacks on all members of the alliance, which would lead to collective countermeasures. According to Jandura, this could include retaliatory tariffs, digital taxes or other similar instruments.
The association warned that the position of German exporters on world markets is becoming increasingly difficult. According to the association's forecasts, German exports, which grew by 1% in 2025, will increase by only 0.6% in 2026. Imports, on the other hand, could grow significantly – by 3%. “The strong euro reduces the competitiveness of German suppliers in price-sensitive markets and reduces margins“, the head of the BGA emphasized.
The initiative was provoked by a protracted trade dispute with the United States, which led to a decline in German exports to the United States of more than 9% in 2025. Deliveries to China have also fallen significantly, while China, partly due to US tariffs, is sending huge volumes of cheap goods to the European market. Meanwhile, the WTO has been paralyzed for several years, as its work has been blocked by key members, not least the United States.