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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned the United States against igniting a tariff war and spoke hopefully of a partnership with China in a speech Wednesday evening.
“If Americans believe they should use their tariff policy to exert influence around the world … that is, of course, a decision Americans can make for themselves,” Merz told a CDU party event in the western German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. “But it is not our policy.”
The German leader signaled he would deliver the same message in Washington next month, where he is set to meet U.S. President Donald Trump. “You can do it, but we will not go along with it. And if it goes too far, we Europeans are certainly able to push back,” Merz said.
Merz’s remarks, which echoed what he said at the Munich Security Conference last weekend, came on Politischer Aschermittwoch (“Political Ash Wednesday”), a tradition at the end of Carnival, a February pre-Lenten celebration when party leaders traditionally deliver raucous speeches. Merz’s address, however, struck a more sober tone.
While criticizing Beijing for “aggressively expanding military outposts in the South China Sea,” the German chancellor said he would speak to Chinese leaders about future cooperation with Europe and Germany during his planned trip to China.
Amid a tariff war ignited last year by Trump’s second presidency, Germany and its hard-pressed auto companies are also being forced to negotiate with Beijing to address a deep structural decline in exports to China.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the key term is strategic partnerships,” Merz added.
Merz indicated he could seek a second term as chancellor. “I usually don’t talk much about my family life,” the 70-year-old leader said. “But my father just turned 102. So I intend to stick around for quite some time.”
