BERLIN — Facing new tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump on Germany’s prized auto industry — immediately after his threat to withdraw American troops — Chancellor Friedrich Merz has offered a disarmingly conciliatory response: Trump is essentially right.
Since Merz broke from his usual measured script to sharply criticize the Trump administration’s handling of the Iran war last week, an angered U.S. president has retaliated by targeting Germany’s weak spots: its reliance on the U.S. for security, as well as its export-oriented economy at a moment of worsening economic pain.
But despite the severity of the American threats, Merz and his ministers are playing down the risks and have reverted to their traditional game-plan of telling Trump exactly what he wants to hear, on both trade and the Iran war.
German government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius batted off suggestions that Merz might have to jet off to Washington to cool the latest tensions with Trump, saying that the two were next scheduled to meet at a summit of the G7 leading economies in France, which won’t take place until June 15-17.
Until then, Vice-Chancellor Lars Klingbeil offered reassurances that Merz was in “constant communication” with Trump to avoid a further escalation. Kornelius, however, could not offer specific information on any planned telephone calls.
Even though politicians from Merz’s coalition partner, the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), are now frustratedly arguing the time has come to unleash the full might of the EU’s trade arsenal against the U.S. over Trump’s threats, Merz is seeking to salvage the relationship with a softly-softly approach.
For the chancellor, the tactical logic is inescapable: direct confrontation risks backfiring, as recent days have shown. So, he’s performing a screeching U-turn and dialing up the placatory diplomacy to be in a position to cajole the president, as far as he possibly can.
‘Not giving up’
After the U.S. president vowed to raise levies on European cars and trucks to 25 percent this week in response to what he said is Europe’s foot-dragging on implementation of the Turnberry trade agreement struck between the EU and U.S. last summer, Merz seemed to have a great deal of understanding for Trump’s position.
In fact, he flipped the blame onto the EU.
Trump is “a bit disappointed that we in the EU have not yet finalized the Turnberry deal — frankly, rightly so,” Merz said in a German public television interview that aired Sunday night. “He is growing impatient because we reached an agreement with the U.S. last August to conclude a trade deal, yet on the European side, new conditions keep being formulated, and we haven’t signed it,” Merz said.
“That is why I hope we can reach an agreement as soon as possible,” he added.
Similarly, Merz performed a sharp pivot on the Iran war. Putting aside his remarks last week that Trump was being humiliated by the regime in Tehran, Merz tweeted that the U.S. was Germany’s most important NATO partner and stressed Berlin shared his “common goal” of stopping Iran developing nuclear arms.
“I am not giving up on working to improve transatlantic relations, nor am I giving up on working with Donald Trump,” Merz said in the television interview.
On Trump’s side
But while Merz’s approach is to revert back to mollifying Trump, other European leaders are running out of patience. That includes members of the chancellor’s own coalition in the SPD.
“The German government cannot stand for this,” said Sebastian Roloff, an SPD lawmaker specializing in economic affairs. “The past has shown that we must not cave in to Trump. We need countermeasures that make it clear to the U.S. that they, too, depend on smooth global trade.”
Senior SPD lawmaker Markus Töns also said he was “unequivocally in favor” of firing the EU’s so-called trade bazooka — or Anti-Coercion Instrument.
Following Trump’s threats, a European Commission spokesperson said on Friday that the EU “will keep our options open to protect EU interests.”
Trump’s trade threat is therefore giving Merz an unexpected opening to get back in the president’s good graces, resuming his role as Europe’s chief advocate for the controversial Turnberry deal, including in the face of French resistance.
By the same token, Merz and his ministers have sounded oddly resigned and accepting of the Trump administration plans to withdraw 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany — and potentially many more, depicting it as part of the U.S. long-term planning despite the fact the decision even shocked U.S. Pentagon officials. One of the units likely to go is a specialized force that was supposed to bring Tomahawk cruise missiles to Germany meant to deter an attack from Russia.
Both Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul have cast the U.S. withdrawal as a signal for Europe to step up and cover more of its own NATO responsibilities at home — something that Trump has long wanted to hear from the Europeans.
Far from criticizing Trump, they are telling him that he’s pushing Europe on the right path.
“We must view this as a renewed call to develop and make our own capabilities available more quickly,” Wadephul said. “There is simply no way around this.”
Time for ‘swift talks’
Merz’s return to placating Trump is also due at least in part to pressure from Germany’s industrial export giants, which are calling for rapid de-escalation.
“The costs of these additional tariffs would be enormous for the German and European automotive industries during what are already very challenging times, but would likely also impact consumers in the U.S.,” said Hildegard Müller, president of the German Association of the Automotive Industry. “The automotive industry urgently calls on both sides to de-escalate tensions and engage in swift talks.”
Merz’s bet is that Trump’s ire will subside — in large part because many inside Trump’s own Republican Party have a positive view of Germany’s support of the EU-U.S. trade deal and push to take on a far greater role in Europe’s defense, say lawmakers in Merz’s conservative bloc.
“I believe that Donald Trump’s current resentment will dissipate the moment he realizes that this approach isn’t winning him much support in the U.S,” said Jürgen Hardt, a senior conservative politician and a Merz ally specializing in foreign affairs. “I don’t believe there is a fundamental hostility toward Germany in America that one could really build on if one wanted to pursue that further.”
Frida Preuß, Tom Schmidtgen, Chris Lunday, Romanus Otte, Oliver Noyan and Hans von der Burchard contributed to this report.
