Trump tariff shock rips up Germany’s China strategy under Merz

Germany's chancellor-in-waiting and leader of the Christian Democratic Union party (CDU) Friedrich Merz speaks during an extraordinary session of the outgoing lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany March 18, 2025. REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen

BERLIN: German chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz faces the prospect of being forced into another pivot before he even takes office.

After Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs – including a 20% levy on imports from Germany and other European Union countries – Merz’s past confidence in the United States is under threat as trade disruptions make a quick economic recovery even more remote.