Friedrich Merz has repeatedly said that his goal as chancellor is to position Germany as a leader in Europe. But less than three months after assuming power, it is becoming clear that one of his main strategies for doing so is through opposing the EU – and in particular,

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday he was not satisfied with the result of trade talks with the United States, but "more simply wasn't achievable" and added the German economy would suffer "significant" damage due to the agreed tariffs.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has welcomed the agreement reached in the customs dispute between the European Union and the US. "With the agreement, we have succeeded in averting a trade conflict that would have hit the export-oriented German economy hard,