Finance
Germany's Merz: US must not cast doubt on trade deal with EU
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on January 28, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 28, 2026
Quick Summary
German Chancellor Merz stresses the importance of the US honoring its EU trade commitments to ensure successful ratification and prevent agreement deterioration.
German Chancellor Merz Urges US to Uphold EU Trade Deal Commitments
US-EU Trade Deal Commitments
BERLIN, Jan 28 (Reuters) - The foundations for the ratification of a trade deal between the EU and U.S. are in place as long as Washington honours its commitments, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday.
Impact of US Tariff Decisions
After U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew new tariff threats on imports from the EU and appeared to strike a deal with NATO over Greenland, the foundations were laid for the 2025 deal to be implemented, said Merz.
Concerns Over Agreement Integrity
"However, the U.S. must not be allowed to cast doubt that it will stand by its commitments from last summer," the chancellor said at a press conference with his Romanian counterpart.
EU's Trade Relations with India
Adding that a final agreement on aluminium and steel still had to be reached, Merz said the U.S. should have an interest in ensuring that the agreements were not undermined by daily announcements that the U.S. may want to do things differently.
"We are not prepared to accept a deterioration of this agreement," said Merz, adding that he was keen for the EU to quickly ratify a trade deal with India struck on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Madeline Chambers and Andreas RinkeEditing by Miranda Murray)
Key Takeaways
- •Chancellor Merz urges the US to uphold EU trade commitments.
- •US tariff decisions impact the EU-US trade deal.
- •Concerns over the integrity of the trade agreement.
- •Merz emphasizes the need for a final agreement on aluminium and steel.
- •EU seeks to ratify a trade deal with India.
Frequently Asked Questions about Germany's Merz: US must not cast doubt on trade deal with EU
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