Merz Takes on the Trump Challenge: Germany's New Chancellor Braces for Tough Talks
Mercenary embarks on a harsh and arduous task
By Volker Petersen
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As Chancellor Friedrich Merz boards his flight to Washington on Thursday evening, he prepares to take on a daunting challenge. Awaiting him at the White House is President Donald Trump. A once casual meeting has morphed into a tense encounter.
Three topics will dominate the conversation: Ukraine, trade, and NATO. A misstep could spell disaster. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was snubbed, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa had to endure tirades about racial issues. Germany has been Trump's favorite target, with topics ranging from German cars in the U.S. to alleged muzzling of free speech. Can Merz keep Trump from going after Germany?
This meeting is crucial. If Merz can establish a rapport with Trump, it could help address at least three major issues: Ukraine, joint trade, and joint defense within NATO.
Ukraine and Sanctions
Merz supports Ukraine and seeks Trump's backing. However, Trump prefers mediation and longs for a peaceful resolution to the conflict. He has even nightmareed about the Nobel Peace Prize.
Merz will be traveling to Washington at a propitious moment. After Russia's massive airstrikes, Trump criticized Putin, announcing that peace seemed out of reach. Meanwhile, the Senate is placing pressure on Trump to impose additional sanctions, an idea championed by Republican Lindsey Graham, who met with Merz in Berlin. Graham urged Merz to thank Trump for easing sanctions on Syria and to demonstrate Germany's commitment to bearing the pain.
Trade and Tariffs
Trump behaves impulsively, with no steadfast principles except for tariffs. He has been advocating for them for decades, targeting mainly China but not ignoring the EU. He asserts that the EU was set up to exploit the U.S., a claim unfounded in reality.
In actuality, the U.S. is not wrong. U.S. companies like Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp), Alphabet (Google, YouTube), and Apple generate massive revenue in Europe through online services—revenue Trump fails to acknowledge in his calculations.
At the same time, Trump regards the value-added tax as a tariff. CDU foreign policy expert Jürgen Hardt corrects that assessment in the Bundestag, explaining that it's an input tax that can be deducted from the tax burden. Merz will need to persuade Trump to relinquish tariffs entirely, proposing a mutually beneficial outcome.
Defense and NATO
Trump sees NATO not as a union for shared values but as a U.S. service to Europe, which he perceives as freeloaders. Trump even threatens, albeit indirectly, to withdraw from NATO. Severing ties would spell disaster for European security, especially given that the U.S. nuclear arsenal secures Europe from Putin's threats.
Despite the friction, Merz can boast a significant win: Germany will substantially increase its defense spending, a figure now standing at 5% of GDP, although it technically amounts to 3.5% for defense and 1.5% for infrastructure. Trump can claim this as his achievement.
So, as Merz and Trump meet for the first time, the stakes are high. Despite the political differences, the meeting presents an opportunity to improve relations and work towards a more secure future for the U.S., Germany, and NATO members.
- In the upcoming discussions between Chancellor Friedrich Merz and President Donald Trump, the employment policies of European Countries, particularly Germany, might come under scrutiny due to ongoing trade-related debates.
- The politics surrounding Germany's employment policy could significantly influence the outcome of the discourse between Chancellor Friedrich Merz and President Donald Trump, as the discussion on trade tariffs may highlight potential imbalances in the economic relationship between Germany and the United States.
