In Berlin on Wednesday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the groundwork for the ratification of a trade pact between the European Union and the United States is in place - on the condition that Washington keeps the commitments it made earlier.
Merz pointed to recent U.S. actions that removed fresh tariff threats on EU imports and indicated progress in negotiations related to Greenland and NATO as factors that have helped create an environment where the planned 2025 trade deal could move toward implementation.
At a press conference alongside his Romanian counterpart, Merz stressed that the U.S. should not be permitted to introduce uncertainty about whether it will honour agreements it reached last summer. "However, the U.S. must not be allowed to cast doubt that it will stand by its commitments from last summer," he said.
He added that certain elements of the package remain unresolved. A final understanding on aluminium and steel still needs to be reached, Merz said, highlighting that these outstanding issues are part of the broader negotiation framework.
Merz also expressed concern about the potential for frequent, conflicting policy statements to weaken the agreement. He said the United States should have a clear interest in ensuring that the negotiated terms are not undermined by day-to-day announcements suggesting Washington may want to take a different approach.
"We are not prepared to accept a deterioration of this agreement," Merz said, underlining the EU's willingness to hold firm on the pact's terms.
In addition to the EU-U.S. matter, Merz said he was eager for the European Union to move quickly to ratify a trade deal with India that was concluded on Tuesday.
The chancellor's comments combined an endorsement of recent de-escalatory moves with a warning: the political and policy signals emerging from Washington must align with prior commitments if the 2025 trade deal is to be implemented without erosion of its terms. Pending resolution on metals - specifically aluminium and steel - remains a concrete outstanding task, and Merz indicated the EU will resist any weakening of negotiated outcomes.
Key context and next steps include whether the outstanding metals agreement can be finalized and whether U.S. policy communication stabilizes to avoid creating fresh doubts about commitments already made.