German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump to demand a clear stance on Washington's tariff policy.
According to AFP and Bloomberg on the 27th (local time), Levin Holle, economic adviser to the Chancellor's office, said Merz plans to discuss trade issues alongside the situations in Ukraine and the Middle East when he meets Trump at the White House on the 3rd of next month. This will be the second bilateral summit between Merz and Trump at the White House since June last year.
"We want stability and predictability in trade," Holle said, adding that "unity within the European Union is important in that regard." Following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that reciprocal tariffs were unlawful, Trump announced a 10% tariff on all imports based on Section 122 of the Trade Act, then immediately raised it to 15%.
This has heightened uncertainty among countries worldwide regarding U.S. tariff policy. Last year, the U.S. and EU reached a trade agreement applying 15% tariffs to most EU products, but some export items including agricultural products are now expected to face disadvantages under the new tariffs.
Olaf Gil, spokesman for the European Commission, previously analyzed that "about 7% of EU exports will exceed the 15% ceiling under the new U.S. tariff regime." The European Parliament has repeatedly postponed approval of the trade agreement, citing uncertainty.
The German Chancellor's office stated it is "in close communication with the European Commission" and that "both the German government and the EU want to uphold the EU-U.S. tariff agreement reached last year." It emphasized that "companies in both the U.S. and Europe equally need stability for planning" and that "we expect a clear explanation from the U.S. government on the next steps."