{"id":11252,"date":"2026-05-08T17:22:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T17:22:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/11252\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T17:22:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T17:22:08","slug":"trumps-feud-with-germanys-merz-puts-eu-trade-deal-on-edge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/11252\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s Feud With Germany\u2019s Merz Puts EU Trade Deal on Edge"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Bloomberg) \u2014 Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s rift with Friedrich Merz is complicating the European Union\u2019s push to finish its US trade deal before fresh tariffs arrive.<\/p>\n

The US president was reluctant on Thursday to delay his threatened 25% levy on European cars and trucks because he remains angry with the German chancellor over his criticism of the war in Iran, according to a person familiar with the matter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s making senior European officials anxious that failing to conclude their trade deal before Trump\u2019s new July 4 deadline may trigger a downward spiral, the person added, speaking anonymously to describe private discussions. While officials are expressing confidence they can complete their own work by then, the window also leaves nearly two months for Trump\u2019s personal grievances to resurface.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The situation is yet another reminder that for Trump, all policy issues are interwoven and personal. Practically speaking, Trump\u2019s anger at Merz has nothing to do with the US-EU trade deal. But in Trump\u2019s world, it\u2019s all related.<\/p>\n

For now, the two sides have reached an uneasy detente. Trump on Thursday\u00a0backed away\u00a0from his vow last week to imminently hit Europe with higher auto tariffs after a call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the bloc\u2019s top executive.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey haven\u2019t really kept up their end of the bargain, and that has the president pretty frustrated, but my expectation is by the Fourth of July, that they will,\u201d White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told Bloomberg TV on Friday.Play Video<\/p>\n

Spokespeople for the White House and commission didn\u2019t respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n

The move was typical Trump: Deliver an ultimatum before ultimately shifting his timeline. The new deadline also coincides with the chronology EU negotiators had already envisioned for themselves. Earlier this week, EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic even publicly called on both sides to have the deal implemented by July.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean Europe is out of the woods.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Germany is currently doing damage control with Trump \u2014 the country\u2019s foreign minister on Thursday insisted that Berlin backs the US goal of guaranteeing Iran can\u2019t obtain a nuclear weapon. But Trump hasn\u2019t retracted his threat to pull more than 5,000 troops out of Germany, leaving open a sensitive issue that could soon renew hostilities between the two.<\/p>\n

A German government spokesperson didn\u2019t immediately reply to a request for comment.Play Video<\/p>\n

On top of that, Europe has its own internal issues to resolve over the actual trade deal, which the US has partially implemented while the EU works through its legislative process.<\/p>\n

The European Parliament and EU capitals are still haggling over the agreement\u2019s text, as EU lawmakers try to amend the deal von der Leyen initially struck with Trump last July. Parliament wants to add an expiration date and stipulations that the agreement won\u2019t go into effect until the US fully honors all its commitments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are sticking to the deal, but we need also guarantees if the other side is not sticking to the deal,\u201d said Bernd Lange, the European Parliament trade committee chair who\u2019s overseeing the legislative file, in a statement to Bloomberg News.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Indeed, EU lawmakers are not looking to alter the pact\u2019s broad contours, which include the EU agreeing to a 15% tariff ceiling on most products in exchange for erasing levies on US industrial goods. The bloc is generally keen to ratify the lopsided arrangement to avoid a full-blown trade war and give European businesses more predictability.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trump officials this week cautioned Europe against making any substantive tweaks to the original accord.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat could limit relief, limit the benefit of the agreement, place limits on US exports to Europe,\u201d US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Bloomberg TV on Wednesday.\u00a0Play Video<\/p>\n

Greer, who recently returned from a Group of Seven trade ministers\u2019 meeting in Paris, also warned that the US will reinstall pre-deal levies if Europe doesn\u2019t move swiftly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have told me they\u2019re committed to compliance,\u201d he told Fox Business on Friday. \u201cIf it\u2019s not the case,\u201d he added, \u201cthe US will go back to its other tariff structure for the EU.\u201d<\/p>\n

During six hours of negotiations on Wednesday night, the EU failed to harmonize on the major outstanding issues. Still, those involved said officials were making headway.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure that we will find a reasonable compromise which is sufficient for the European Parliament,\u201d Lange told Bloomberg News the morning after the talks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sefcovic largely agreed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis significant investment of time and effort suggests that we are making considerable progress and have already achieved a lot \u2014 although, of course, nothing is agreed until everything is agreed,\u201d he posted Thursday on LinkedIn.\u00a0<\/p>\n

EU negotiators will likely next get together again on May 19. If they can find an agreement at that gathering, Parliament and EU capitals could ratify the deal in June.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Until then, officials just have to hope that Trump\u2019s mounting ire at Europe \u2014 and Merz \u2014 doesn\u2019t resurface. In addition to his irritation with Germany, Trump has recently gone after Italy\u2019s Giorgia Meloni, an ostensible ally, as well as the pope. He also mused about leaving the NATO military alliance and is still only months removed from demanding he be given Greenland, a Danish territory.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trump avoided any fresh barbs at Europe on Thursday night after speaking with von der Leyen, but he did frame the issue through a US-focused lens.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI agreed to give her until our Country\u2019s 250th Birthday,\u201d he wrote on his Truth Social platform. \u201cOr, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a9\u00a02026\u00a0Bloomberg L.P.<\/p>\n

Editorial Standards<\/a> \u00b7 Corrections<\/a> \u00b7 About gCaptain<\/a><\/p>\n

This article contains reporting from Bloomberg, published under license.<\/p>\n

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