We want to achieve stability and predictability in trade relations. A united stance within the European Union is important in this regard. Businesses need planning security, and that applies on both sides of the Atlantic. We therefore expect clarity from the US government on the next steps.
The sum of exports and imports between the two countries last year totalled 251.8 billion (roughly $296.6 billion), a 2.1% increase, according to Destatis. China was Germany's most important trading partner from 2016 all the way through to 2023. In 2024, the US briefly held the title. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is also set to visit China next week, where he is set to discuss trade and other topics.
That's after Trump attempted to use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act for the first time as a vehicle for imposing tariffs, when he unveiled his "Liberation Day" duties last year. The tariffs were quickly challenged in court. While arguing the case last spring, Justice Department lawyers acknowledged that if the tariffs were deemed unlawful, then the government would issue refunds to the plaintiffs.
The International Monetary Fund has warned mounting geopolitical tensions and an escalation of Donald Trump's tariff war could hit global economic growth and trigger a backlash in financial markets. In an update as Trump threatens to impose tariffs on Nato allies opposed to his ambitions in Greenland, the Washington-based fund said a renewed eruption in trade tensions was among the biggest risks to global growth in 2026.
Stability. Consistency. Ever-changing complexity. With language like that, deployed in separate meetings in three Asian capitals this week, government leaders forged closer ties driven in part by a figure halfway around the world: the president of the United States. And much of the time, they didn't even mention Donald Trump's name. IN BEIJING: The U.K. and Chinese leaders called Thursday for a "long-term, stable, and comprehensive strategic partnership" between their two countries. The important words are long-term and stable. The two countries committed a decade ago to building a comprehensive strategic partnership but progress has been halting at best.
The agreement will "drive a massive reshoring of America's semiconductor sector," the US Commerce Department said. In an interview to news channel CNBC, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the objective was to bring 40% of Taiwan's entire chip supply chain and production to the United States. Had Taipei not agreed to manufacture in the US, the tariffs would likely be 100%, Lutnick added.
For the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, the EU's trade pact with India was the mother of all deals. Seen from the other end of the telescope, it looked like the mouse of all deals, with just 4bn (3.5bn) in tariff reductions a rounding error in a 180bn trading relationship. But that misses the point: this is about economic heavyweights resetting the terms of their cooperation because of Donald Trump's use of tariffs as a tool of economic and political compulsion.
After nearly two decades of negotiations, India and the European Union announced Tuesday they have reached a free trade agreement to deepen economic and strategic ties. The accord, which the EU chief described as the "mother of all deals," could affect as many as 2 billion people. The deal between two of the world's biggest markets comes as Washington targets both India and the EU with steep import tariffs, disrupting established trade flows and pushing major economies to seek alternate partnerships.
The European Commission, which concluded negotiations a year ago, and countries such as Germany and Spain argue it is a vital part of an EU push to unlock new markets to offset business lost from U.S. tariffs and to reduce reliance on China by securing access to critical minerals. Opponents led by France, the European Union's largest agricultural producer, say the agreement will jack up imports of cheap food products, including beef, poultry and sugar, undercutting domestic farmers.
The upgrade places the EU on the same diplomatic footing as the United States, China and Russia and was announced during a visit to Hanoi by European Council President António Costa. "At a moment when the international rules-based order is under threat from multiple sides, we need to stand side by side as reliable and predictable partners," Costa said, adding that the partnership is about "developing spheres of shared prosperity."
Major agreement reached after 20 years of negotiations and during ongoing tensions with the US. New Delhi, India India and the European Union have signed a free trade agreement that both sides have hailed as the mother of all deals. The agreement, announced on Tuesday, came together over nearly two decades of intermittent negotiations and during a geoeconomic crisis triggered by United States President Donald Trump's trade war.
