The Federal Minister of Finance of Germany, Jörg Kukies, speaks during the Sema World Economy Summit for the 2025 World Economy Summit in Conrad Washington on April 23, 2025 in Washington, DC.
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Trust between Europe and the United States has not yet been infringed despite President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff policies, said Joerg Kukies, Minister of Interim German Finance, CNBC on Thursday.
“For confidence to break, there is much more than to happen because the transatlantic association has a construction of bones of so many decades that will not be carried away by the declaration of the tariffs,” Cnbc Bench Bench Bench Bench Bench Bench told Carolin Benche Bench Bench Bench.
Kukies added that the duration of a previous visit to Washington, shortly after 25% tariffs were announced in all imported cars to the US. UU., There seemed to have interest in reaching an agreement.
Europe and the United States have different interests and both parties must understand the views of others, he said. “But this is not the first time that the United States and Europe negotiate with tariffs, so I don’t think we are close to a moment of crisis.”
Kukies gave a positive tone when referring to conversations, saying “everything goes in the negotiation” with the “optimistic” block that can solve the differences.
Kukies declared that a zero rate agreement for zero would be its preferred result. This is aligned with what the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has legalized.
However, Trump has already rejected a European Union proposal for an agreement that would see zero percent tariffs on industrial goods imported from the United States, as well as EU imports.
Germany is currently attached to tariffs of 10%: the temporarily reduced rate announced by Trump after the initial tasks imposed by 20%.
The economy in difficulties in the country depends largely on trade, since the United States serves as its most important commercial partner. Therefore, it is expected that Trump tariff agitation hit special Germany.
Earlier on Thursday, the German government reviewed its prognosis for the economic growth of the lowest country, saying that it now expected stagnation in 2025. This compares with the January estimate or the growth of 0.3%.
Interine Economy Minister Robert Habeck, at a press conference, cited the commercial policies of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, and its impact on the German economy as the main reason for the downward revision.
The IMF in its last global economic perspective, which was published earlier this week, also reduced its expectations for the German economy with the body now projecting a contraction of 0.2%.
Germany’s economy has been fighting for some time, hiring both in 2023 and 2024 annually. However, the country has avoided a technical recession, which is characterized by two consecutive contraction quarters. The latest data of gross internal products are scheduled to be launched next week.
There could also be some positive aspects on the horizon after an important fiscal package, which could lead to a great impulse of investment, was enshrined in the Constitution of Germany earlier this year. It included changes in the long -standing debt brake rule that are established to allow a higher defense expense, as well as an infrastructure investment fund of 500 billion euros ($ 569 billion).
The German debt brake limits how much debt the government can assume and dictates the size of the structural budget deficit of the federal government