Tariffs: France and Germany pursue different tacks towards US deal

Published connected 27/06/2025 - 1:22 GMT+2•Updated 2:29

France and Germany exhibited diverging strategies successful nan waste and acquisition conflict betwixt nan EU and nan US ongoing since mid-March, pursuing a Council acme successful Brussels connected Thursday. While Germany is eager to scope a swift statement astatine each costs, France emphasised nan important that bloc should not show weakness.

In a property convention aft nan summit, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said nan Council encouraged nan Commission to usage nan remaining 2 weeks to travel to a swift agreement. But he said that nan Council had encouraged von der Leyen to prosecute nan EU’s ain countermeasures if necessary. He said it was important to reason thing quickly and flagged nan risks to nan auto, chemicals and pharma sectors if 9 July arrives and nan Trump tariffs return effect.

“My dream is that we tin scope a swift conclusion,” French President Emmanuel Macron said, adding: “However, this willingness should not beryllium mistaken for weakness. We want to reason quickly because it serves our corporate interest, supports nan stableness of world trade, and benefits our businesses—but not astatine immoderate price.”

On Monday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticized nan Commission’s strategy arsenic overly method and called for accelerating nan negotiations by focusing connected strategical sectors specified arsenic automobiles, steel, and energy, chemicals and pharma.

The US presently imposes 50% tariffs connected EU alloy and aluminium, 25% connected cars and a 10% baseline connected each EU imports.

Negotiations betwixt nan US and nan EU person gained momentum since President Donald Trump and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met astatine nan G7 acme successful Canada connected 16 June, arsenic nan captious 9 July deadline approaches, aft which Trump has threatened to enforce 50% tariffs connected each EU imports.

On Thursday evening, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced to EU personnel states that she had received a US counter-proposal to nan EU’s offer, though she did not disclose immoderate details.

For respective months, nan EU has been offering nan US a zero-for-zero tariff woody connected each business products, on pinch commitments to acquisition strategical equipment specified arsenic liquid earthy state and soybeans.

However, fewer judge that securing 0% tariffs from nan US is still a realistic possibility. “Since they decided to enforce aggregate tariffs connected their waste and acquisition partners crossed nan globe, nan US now has an appetite for nan gross that tariffs generate,” an EU charismatic said, implying that nan US rejected nan EU offer.

The Commission is now reconsidering its attack to a early tariff-based deal, though nan circumstantial position person yet to beryllium determined. “The prevailing presumption is that a 10% tariff mightiness beryllium nan benchmark,” an EU diplomat said.

“On immoderate areas 10% is not truthful much, nan EU imposes 10% connected a batch of imports of cars, whether they are Chinese aliases Japanese,” different EU charismatic told Euronews, adding that “for different products, specified arsenic aircraft, it’s overmuch much analyzable because nan accumulation statement is very interdependent betwixt nan US and nan EU. That’s why, you request a granular analysis.”

If nan EU manages to scope an statement by 9 July, it will not beryllium a broad agreement, 2 elder EU diplomats said.

“The astir realistic result would apt beryllium a wide model aliases a “principled agreement”, owed to clip constraints,” an EU diplomat commented.