Germany’s Merz hoping to revive talks on EU-US free trade agreement

Berlin (dpa) – Germany’s incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke out in favour of a trans-Atlantic free trade zone without any tariffs between Europe and the US, he told a business newspaper.

He said it was a mistake not to get the major free trade agreement known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) over the finish line. “And yes, I hope for a new trans-Atlantic free trade agreement. Zero percent tariffs on everything. That would be better for both sides,” he told Germany’s Handelsblatt newspaper.

His comments come as Washington pursues a dramatic and unpredictable trade policy, having imposed steep tariffs on goods from numerous countries before then pausing many of these.

TTIP is a proposed free trade agreement between the European Union and the United States. Negotiations were launched in 2013.

US President Donald Trump however halted negotiations at the start of his first term in office, in 2017. They have been on ice ever since.

Merz said that a solution could be found with Trump if it served common interests. The EU must speak with one voice, demonstrate its ability to act and represent its interests with confidence, he said.

Merz called for a free trade agreement with the US during campaigning for the German elections last year.

Trump’s adviser, tech billionaire Elon Musk, has also spoken out in favour of a trans-Atlantic free trade zone without tariffs.

The Trump administration is currently negotiating with different countries over tariffs, during the 90-day pause the president announced after imposing the initial set of duties. But markets remain deeply unsettled as people fear further economic chaos. (April 12)