Germany eyes U.S.-EU car tariff deal after Merz-Trump talks
Speaking at an event in Berlin just hours after his inaugural trip to Washington for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, Merz said: 'We have to see if we can come up with an offset rule or something along those lines.'
'We agreed that we will have two representatives between the White House and the chancellery who will now talk intensively with each other about German-American trade relations,' he added.
He said trade negotiations with the U.S. remained within the remit of the European Union, however, and that later on Friday he would speak to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to brief her on the outcome of his talks with Trump.
The news comes after sources told Reuters last month that Mercedes-Benz and German rivals BMW and Volkswagen were in talks with Washington over a possible import tariff deal.
Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kaellenius told Spiegel in an interview on Thursday that such a mechanism could act as a precedent for other industries.
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The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Washington trade talks with India have stalled, sources say
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According to Rossow, Greer will only make the trip to New Delhi 'if there is a realistic chance of resolving any pending issues in the deal". 'If it looks like an empty trip – circling the drain on the last issues without hope of a breakthrough – the visit might be cancelled,' he said. One source said India wants its recent free trade agreement with Britain, which opened British markets to Indian agricultural and textile products, among others, to serve as a model for a deal with the US. Meanwhile, the US side views its recent trade agreement with South Korea, which Trump claimed opened Korean agricultural markets to American goods, as the kind of access it expects from New Delhi. Another source familiar with the thinking on the US side said that Trump has also been keen on some headline-worthy announcements that include big investments or significant energy and defense purchases. Rossow said he suspects that a Phase 1 deal will 'not vary dramatically from the other deals India has signed.' He added that India seemed 'willing to commit to some big announcements in terms of investment and government-directed purchases in areas like hydrocarbons.' 'With President Trump's characterisation of Prime Minister Modi as the 'tariff king' paired with the enormous size of the Indian market, the deal itself will be big news – if and when it's concluded,' Rossow said. India's membership in Brics, a bloc of emerging Global South economies, and Trump's closeness with Pakistan have also become irritants in the US-India relationship. Hours after announcing new tariffs on India, the US president said his team had reached a deal with Islamabad and criticised New Delhi's active role in Brics. 'Brics, which is basically a group of countries that are anti-the United States, and India is a member of that if you can believe it ... 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Free Malaysia Today
2 hours ago
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Free Malaysia Today
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