German chancellor says he will travel to Washington with a common European position after the U.S. Supreme Court curtailed sweeping tariffs.
Germany will approach Donald Trump on tariffs with a unified European front, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Saturday, after the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a blow to the U.S. president’s sweeping duties.
“I will go to Washington with a coordinated European position,” Merz told German broadcaster ARD following the CDU party conference in Stuttgart, stressing that tariff policy is a matter for the European Union, not individual member states.
Merz is due to meet with Trump in early March as European capitals assess the implications of the U.S. high court’s ruling for transatlantic trade. French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday warned against complacency after Trump swiftly imposed new duties following the court ruling.
Merz described the Supreme Court’s decision as “an interesting” development that showed the Trump administration had been set limits on tariff policy. The ruling has “a reassuring element,” he said. “The separation of powers in the United States still appears to function, and that is good news.”
At the same time, Merz argued that tariffs ultimately hurt the country imposing them. “It primarily harms the country that levies the tariffs,” he said, noting that while Germany bears part of the burden through weaker exports, American consumers ultimately pay higher prices.