Published: 11:08, March 4, 2026
Merz says EU won’t accept US trade deal on worse tariff terms
By Agencies

US President Donald Trump meets with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on March 3, 2026. (PHOTO/AFP)

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told President Donald Trump that he wants the European Union’s trade agreement with the US to be implemented quickly but the bloc can’t accept a deal with worse conditions.

Merz held bilateral talks with the American president for a second time Tuesday and said at the start of the meeting in the Oval Office he also wanted to discuss the US-Israeli strikes on Iran and the Ukraine crisis with Trump.

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“A limit has been reached of what we are willing to accept, what we can accept with regard to this disproportionate burden with tariffs,” Merz told reporters after his meeting with Trump. “We want this agreement to last and I have gained the impression that the president and his staff see it that way.”

Trump administration officials are rushing to design a new tariff regime after the president’s original framework was struck down last month by the US Supreme Court.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, has been pushing to get the EU—US pact sealed last July approved, but the European Parliament has repeatedly delayed a final ratification vote until they have clarity about Washington’s intentions.

READ MORE: European Parliament delays decision on EU-US trade deal

Heads of the European Parliament’s trade committee will meet Wednesday to decide if they’ll unfreeze the ratification process.

EU member states have broadly supported sticking to the EU-US agreement despite the new tariff framework breaching the 15 percent ceiling for products like cheese and plastics.

“We have to talk about our trade agreement, which I would like to be in place as soon as possible,” Merz told reporters in brief remarks alongside Trump in the White House.