Germany’s Merz ‘cautiously optimistic’ about US trade deal in next days

BERLIN — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed confidence on Wednesday that the European Union can close a trade deal with the United States in the coming days.

“I am cautiously optimistic that we can succeed in reaching an agreement with the U.S. in the next few days, by the end of the month at the latest,” Merz told lawmakers in the Bundestag on Wednesday.

“I myself am also in close contact with the American government, with the president and the European Commission,” Merz said. “Our aim,” he added, is to reach an agreement “as quickly as possible that links mutual trade between the U.S. and the European Union with the lowest possible tariffs.”

Merz is under enormous pressure from German industry, particularly from automakers, to push the EU to seal a rapid deal as its export-oriented economy is behing hit hard by Trump’s sectoral tariffs. The U.S. currently levies 25 percent tariffs on cars and 50 percent on steel and aluminum.

“There is a lot at stake here,” said Merz. “Jobs are at stake here. The prosperity of our country is also at stake here.”

While pushing the EU to act quickly, Merz also said Germany would “achieve nothing” if it were to act on its own, underscoring the need for unity among the the bloc’s 27 member states.

Two officials told POLITICO earlier this week that the U.S. has offered an agreement to the EU that would keep a 10 percent baseline tariff on all EU goods, with some exceptions for sensitive sectors such as aircraft and spirits.

Trump said on Tuesday he could be two days away from sending a letter to the European Union indicating that it has a trade deal with the United States. He has, however, pushed back a deadline for a return of more sweeping tariffs to Aug. 1 should no agreement be reached.