The front-runner to become German Chancellor has urged European Union leaders to present joint proposals to Donald Trump to try to ease potential US trade tariffs on EU goods.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Friedrich Merz, whose party is leading in the polls, described Trump as a predictable president who likes to make deals.
“The predictability of this president is clear, and it has always been clear,” he said. “Let's learn about the approaches we have in common“.
Merz stressed how steadfast Europeans have been during Trump's first term, noting that the European Union must be prepared to respond by imposing trade tariffs on American products.
“Remember the tariff debate we had in 2018 when the first Trump administration was in office,” he said. “We imposed these tariffs on steel and aluminum (in the EU), and the common response was tariffs on Levi’s jeans, on whiskey and on Harley Davidson. Within six months the problem was solved.”
