German leaders put pressure on a difficult response to Trump prices in the hope of relaxation later – Politico

“But the question is, as always, how do you get there?” He added. “I recommend that Europe act first with Unity and, secondly, with determination. We are in a strong position. We can join many countries, with many regions of the world and increase the pressure on Americans accordingly. ”

With its export -oriented economy, few countries in the world are as vulnerable to Trump’s pricing threats as Germany.

After Trump dropped the European Union in the worst category of American trade partners on Wednesday, hitting the block with a tariff of 20% on all imports, Jörg Krämer, chief economist of Commerzbank, described it as “bad day for Germany as a exporting country”.

“This will reduce the gross domestic product of Germany by about half a half a hundred over two years,” he said.

Trump’s prices have a particular challenge for the new German Chancellor Conservative Friedrich Merz, a long-standing transatlantician and believing in free trade that has promised to rekindle the stagnant economy of Germany. Despite Trump’s decision, the conservatives in particular hope that a difficult EU response will attract Trump to the negotiating table and will even give a free trade agreement later.

Let’s do

“In the short term, there is no bypassing countermeasures at the American prices. Otherwise, there will be no movement on the Washington side,” said Jürgen Hardt, a main conservative legislator in Politico. However, he added, no “climbing spiral” which will damage German industry even more should result.