Merz sees strong US-EU trade prospects after White House talks

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz returned from his first official visit to Washington, projecting confidence in U.S. President Donald Trump’s commitment to transatlantic relations, NATO, and bilateral trade, despite lingering concerns over the American stance on Ukraine.

Speaking at a business summit in Berlin on June 6, Merz sought to dispel fears of a transatlantic rift, characterising his talks at the White House as constructive and candid, Caliber.Az reports, citing POLITICO's recent material.

“My conclusion from this encounter is different from perhaps the public image,” Merz said. “This American government is open to discussion, listens, and is prepared to accept other opinions … You can talk to them. But you can’t let them intimidate you.”

The visit, which marked Merz’s first as chancellor, covered three central areas: the ongoing U.S. support for Ukraine amid Russia’s war of aggression, the future role of NATO, and the status of European-American trade relations. Despite the polarised international discourse, Merz appeared optimistic about the outlook.

“I have no doubt at all that the American government is committed to NATO,” he declared, adding that Berlin and Washington were now poised to strengthen their trade partnership. To that end, he announced that “two representatives who are now talking intensively with each other about German-American trade relations embedded in the European framework” had been designated, a move he attributed to the success of Thursday’s White House meeting. “The lunch was worth its weight in gold for that,” he remarked.

Merz said he planned to brief European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen later that same day. The Commission has been working to secure a new trade agreement with Washington, especially in light of Trump’s recent decision to double tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to 50 per cent.

Mindful of Trump’s often unpredictable demeanour in bilateral meetings, Merz had reportedly prepared for the kind of diplomatic ambush that had rattled leaders from countries such as Ukraine and South Africa. But his efforts appeared to pay off.

“It wasn’t a press conference, but a good show in the Oval Office,” Merz said. Trump praised the chancellor, calling him “a very good man to deal with,” and reiterated his view that a favourable trade agreement with the European Union was achievable. He also offered reassurance regarding U.S. military presence in Europe, saying he had no intention to withdraw the nearly 35,000 American troops currently stationed in Germany.

Jürgen Hardt, the lead foreign policy voice in the Bundestag for Merz’s conservative bloc, welcomed the results of the visit. Speaking to Welt TV, Hardt said, “These are concrete, I hope, reliable statements from the U.S. president that Friedrich Merz will come back to and can be built on. The message was ‘We are good friends,’ and what more could we want?”

From the governing coalition’s junior partner, Metin Hakverdi, the German government’s coordinator for transatlantic relations and a member of the Social Democratic Party, also sounded a hopeful note. “There is still a lot of work ahead of us in the transatlantic relationship,” he told Tagesspiegel, “but this good relationship will help us to successfully tackle the major challenges in the world together with the Americans, especially the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine.”

However, Trump’s own comments on Ukraine raised new questions about alignment between the two governments. While he has frequently promised to end the war swiftly, during the White House meeting, Trump appeared to imply that allowing Russia and Ukraine to “fight for a while” might be preferable in the short term. This view starkly contrasts with Merz’s position that pressure must be kept on Moscow by backing Kyiv more robustly and forcing Russia into negotiations.

Reactions from the opposition in Berlin reflected the divided perceptions of Merz’s Washington visit. Robin Wagener, a foreign policy lawmaker from the opposition Green Party, congratulated the chancellor on social media for his “strong words on Ukraine in DC.” But his colleague, Green MP Deborah Düring, offered a harsher appraisal, accusing Merz of courting Trump and missing an opportunity to take a principled stand. “This was a chance to speak out clearly for human rights, the rule of law and democracy—and it was not taken,” she said.

By Tamilla Hasanova