Klingbeil: Customs deal has revealed European weaknesses
Washington (dpa) – After the tariff deal between the EU and the USA, Germany must draw consequences according to Germany’s Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil.
“I believe that our weaknesses have already been revealed in the dispute with the Americans over tariffs,” Klingbeil said on the radio before a meeting with his American counterpart in Washington. “And we must draw consequences from that.” Klingbeil emphasized that closer cooperation with other partners like Canada or the UK is now necessary. “We need to become stronger.”
It is initially good that there is a solution, Klingbeil reaffirmed. This now needs to be spelled out. But it is also time for Europeans to sit down and consider: “What has actually happened in the last few weeks?” When asked about a possible end to free global trade, the German Social Democrat referred to a “setback.”
Klingbeil: I would have wished for a better outcome
He does not hide the fact that he would have wished for a better outcome in the negotiations with the USA, Klingbeil said. It is now about looking at what is still possible as the German Finance Minister to protect German jobs and economic strength, especially in the steel sector. He himself also has questions regarding the agreement and cited steel and a possible quota regulation as examples.
Klingbeil traveled to the USA on Sunday, among other things to meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday.
The EU and the USA recently reached an agreement in the tariff dispute. The agreement between US President Donald Trump and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen provides for a tariff rate of 15 percent for most EU imports into the USA. (August 4)
