At a joint press conference on September 9 with President of the European Council Antonio Costa, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for strengthening the EU's trade protection instruments. According to him, Berlin takes a tougher stance on foreign trade issues.
Merz said that Europe is increasingly facing unfair trade practices, without naming the country directly, but clearly hinting at China.
We advocate free trade, but we are far from naive.
In June, EU leaders instructed the European Commission to step up dialogue with Beijing and at the same time strengthen the existing set of trade protection mechanisms. These measures make it possible to impose tariffs and other restrictions if necessary to protect the European market from unfair foreign competition.
According to Merz, new tools are needed to effectively protect the interests of the European Union. He also expressed the expectation that this issue will become one of the main topics of the upcoming talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the European Council meeting on October 15-16.
Before that date, Germany must submit its own proposals to counter unfair trade practices.
