Germany’s Merz to ‘adapt’ to Trump during high-stakes meeting on tariffs, defense

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to meet with President Donald Trump on Thursday as major geopolitical issues ranging from war in Europe, the Middle East and massive trade disputes are expected to be discussed.

Germany and the Trump administration, both during his first term and again upon re-election, have butted heads with both sides expressing public frustration with one another. 

But recent positive chats between Merz and Trump suggest the meeting on Thursday will remain cordial as Berlin looks to make headway when it comes to lifting Trump’s 25% tariff on imported vehicles and parts, as well as the existing 10% tariff on all goods, which was temporarily lowered from 20% earlier this year. 

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The trip to D.C. this week is Merz’s first since becoming chancellor last month, and comes as European nations have increasingly banded together following Trump’s geopolitical positions regarding trade and defense since re-entering the White House. 

Nations like France and the U.K. have successfully toed the line when it comes to maintaining a relationship with Washington under the Trump presidency, while also drastically expanding relations to decrease future dependence on the U.S.

Germany’s Merz is also expected to attempt to strike this balance – a strategy he said he had already begun working on when speaking with German media earlier this week.

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“It’s always important that you don’t talk for too long, but that you talk for a moment and let him talk too”, Merz told German outlet WDR. “You have to adapt to him and get involved with him – and at the same time you can’t make yourself smaller than we are. 

“That’s my most important requirement anyway, that we can talk to him sensibly: We’re not supplicants,” he added. 

But despite efforts to bolster relations with Trump from afar, Oval Office meetings with the president are anything but predictable, as witnessed by the explosive interaction during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s February visit, as well as when the president accused South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government of committing “genocide” last month. Ramaphosa rejected the claims.

One area where Merz could earn points with Trump is when it comes NATO defense spending and the president’s push for nations to not only increase spending on defense to the 2% threshold, but to spend 5% GDP on defense – a push the U.S. is not yet close to achieving. 

While Germany does spend more than 2% of its GDP on defense, Merz has backed the call to spend up to 5%, and he could use this to rally Trump to increase his support for Kyiv, and push for greater European involvement in future peace talks.