Merz Urges Trump Tariff Reaction in German Coalition Talks

Trump’s tariffs are another reason for the current coalition talks to really focus on structural reforms and a sustainable strengthening of the domestic economy,

Brzeski said

Germany has the firepower for subsidies, but I don’t think that it will and should be used for this purpose,

said Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank

The unexpectedly huge and timely German fiscal stimulus can help to offset some of the trade war damage, but the risks to our forecasts are tilted towards lower growth,

Berenberg's chief economist Holger Schmieding said

Overall, the economic risks for 2025 are leaning towards a third consecutive year of recession,

said Marc Schattenberg, senior economist at Deutsche Bank Research

Especially in the key election themes: migration, the economy, cutting red tape. Merz has to pay back that debt,

he added, hinting that

We can't carry on as before,

Winkel told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper

We are of course monitoring the situation on the international financial markets very closely,

the spokesperson told a regular press briefing in Berlin

Friedrich Merzchancellor

The situation on the international equity and bond markets is dramatic and threatens to deteriorate further. It is therefore more urgent than ever for Germany to restore its international competitiveness as quickly as possible,

Merz said in an emailed statement to Reuters

This issue must now be at the centre of the coalition negotiations,

he added of his conservative bloc's talks to form a government with the Social Democrats, repeating his party's calls for tax cuts, a reduction in red tape and lower energy prices