Paris and Berlin are currently at odds on several files including trade agreements and what approach to take on China.
DAVOS, Switzerland — Germany’s likely next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, wants his country and France to overcome their disputes on EU trade policy.
“I am very close to Emmanuel Macron, and we are meeting regularly on these issues,” Merz told a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday.
“We have to overcome our dispute on Mercosur,” Merz said, referring to the trade deal sealed with the South American bloc in December. Putting a trade accord with Canada to bed also took far too long, he added.
Germany and France have been at odds on multiple trade files, including imposing duties on Chinese electric vehicles — which France loves and Germany hates — or whether to seal the contentious Mercosur trade deal — which France hates and Germany loves.
Just a year ago, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and France’s then Prime Minister Gabriel Attal “agreed to disagree” on whether to conclude the Mercosur trade deal.
Paris’ repeated vetoes on trade deals have infuriated Berlin, which has even questioned whether the European Commission should continue to negotiate trade deals on behalf of the bloc’s 27 members.
Should France maintain its opposition, Merz hinted that the Mercosur deal might just go through the Council of the EU thanks to a majority vote.
“I would prefer to see unanimous votes on that, but if not possible, we should do that in a majority vote,” he added.
Ahead of Germany’s Feb. 23 early election, Merz’s Christian Democratic Union lead on 30 percent, well ahead of Scholz’s Social Democrats on 16 percent, according to POLITICO’s Poll of Polls. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is running second with 21 percent.
Speaking 24 hours after Trump became U.S. president, Merz also pointed to the EU’s steel and aluminum tariffs as an example of the European Union’s successfully coming together against Washington.
When the first Trump administration imposed tariffs on European steel and aluminum in 2018, “the response from Europe, the common response was to put tariffs on Levi’s jeans, on whiskey and on Harley Davidsons,” Merz said.
“And within six months, the problem was resolved. The only way to resolve these problems is to be strong on the European side and to negotiate with the American side from a position of strength,” he said, marking a tougher tone than his recent comments on pushing the EU to revive a controversial trade deal with Washington, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
Scholz is due to meet Macron in Paris on Wednesday for talks expected to touch on the Mercosur deal.