Merz Says EU Won’t Accept US Trade Deal on Worse Tariff Terms

US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on March 3.Photographer: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

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March 3, 2026 at 9:15 PM UTC

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 Russia’s war on Ukraine with Trump.