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German finance minister says US also needs a swift tariff solution
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on May 25, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
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Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on May 25, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
German finance minister calls for a swift resolution to US tariffs, warning of economic impacts on both nations.
FRANKFURT (Reuters) -The United States has a shared interest in finding a rapid solution to the dispute over trade tariffs, German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said on Sunday.
After a period of de-escalation, Trump on Friday reignited tensions, by pushing for a 50% tariff on goods from the 27-nation European Union, starting on June 1.
Germany was the biggest EU exporter to the U.S. last year, sending goods there worth 161 billion euros ($183 billion), according to official figures.
But Klingbeil told German public broadcaster ARD that tariffs endangered the U.S. as well as the German economy.
"We should not feel provoked but focus on what is at stake. We want a joint solution with the U.S.... and I want to say very clearly here that that is also in the interest of the U.S.," he said in an interview.
"All data from the U.S. concerning the level of the dollar and U.S. bonds show that they also should have an interest to work together with us," he added.
The White House paused most of the tariffs Trump announced in early April against nearly every country in the world after investors sold off U.S. assets, including government bonds and the U.S. dollar.
Trump left in place a 10% baseline tax on most imports, and later reduced his 145% tax on Chinese goods to 30%.
A 50% levy on EU imports would raise consumer prices in the United States, notably on German cars, pharmaceuticals and machinery.
($1 = 0.8800 euros)
(Reporting by Reinhard Becker in Berlin and Vera Eckert in Frankfurt, editing by Barbara Lewis)
Lars Klingbeil stated that the US has a shared interest in finding a rapid solution to the trade tariff dispute, emphasizing that tariffs could endanger both the US and German economies.
A 50% levy on EU imports would raise consumer prices in the United States, particularly affecting German cars, pharmaceuticals, and machinery.
Germany was the largest EU exporter to the US, sending goods worth 161 billion euros ($183 billion) in the previous year.
Trump had paused most of the tariffs announced in early April after a sell-off of U.S. assets, but left a 10% baseline tax on most imports in place.
Klingbeil suggests that both the US and EU should focus on finding a joint solution to the tariff issue, which he believes is in the interest of both economies.
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