Lars Klingbeil, Germany’s Vice Chancellor and a Federal Minister of Finance, said on Sunday, July 13, that the EU has to take strong action in the face of an escalation in the global trade war. That is, if tariff negotiations fail to ease tensions. President Donald Trump had announced a 30% tariff threat on imports from Mexico and the European Union to take effect on August 1. This came after weeks of working-level discussions with the big US trading partners ended without comprehensive trade agreements . The threat has sparked a strong response from German politicians and business leaders. Klingbeil highlights that all they want is a “fair agreement” with the US Trump’s tariff policy has largely threatened Germany , Europe’s largest economy, with much to lose as a big exporter to the United States. The country mainly exports vehicles and auto parts, machinery, and pharmaceuticals to the nation. Germany sold 161 billion euros, about $188 billion worth of goods, to the United States in 2024. Moreover, data from the German government revealed a trade surplus of nearly 70 billion euros. In an interview with the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Klingbeil responded to Trump’s tariff policy, mentioning that if they could not reach a fair agreement with the US, they would have to take strong actions to protect European jobs and businesses. According to him, their offer of cooperation is still open, but they will not agree on everything. The finance minister also stated that Trump’s tariff policy would only create losers and urged for a reduction in the conflict, which he claimed could endanger the American economy just as much as it affects European companies. Klingbeil then concluded that no one wants new threats or provocations right now. What they really need, according to him, is for the EU to keep engaging in serious and focused talks with the US. He added that Europe stands united and determined: they only want a fair agreement. Jürgen Hardt, a deputy head of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative CDU/CSU parliamentary faction in the Bundestag, also commented on the situation. He expressed his optimism about more negotiations between the EU and Washington, especially in the era of higher tariffs being postponed. Hardt also demonstrated his confidence that the two nations involved will see at least a partial agreement and another delay before the August 1 deadline. After all, he added that American citizens and companies end up paying those high tariffs, which causes prices to rise and leads to inflation in the US. Bernd Lange refers to Trump’s 30% tariff on the EU’s imports as “ bold and disrespectful” Bernd Lange, a Member of the European Parliament’s trade committee, made known the EU’s trade negotiations with Washington, which have been going on for over three weeks. He said the EU had been negotiating harder and had already made compromises. He also noted that the bloc had paused all countermeasures after the US introduced an initial 20% tariff on European imports in April. Afterwards, Lange told reporters that raising the tariffs on European goods from 20% to 30% was bold and disrespectful. Based on his argument, this is a serious setback for ongoing negotiations , and he stated that this approach is inappropriate for dealing with an important trading partner. Lange emphasized that Europe needs to clearly communicate that these “unfair trade practices” are unacceptable. He mentioned that they have delayed the initial phase of their counteractions , but he strongly believes they should be put into action immediately. According to him, the first set of countermeasures should start on Monday, July 14, as planned, and the second set should follow soon after. Cryptopolitan Academy: Want to grow your money in 2025? Learn how to do it with DeFi in our upcoming webclass. Save Your Spot
