Berlin - Saba:
German Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz has warned of the repercussions of the tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump and their significant negative impact on the German stock market, overshadowing the urgent need to cut taxes and deregulate the economy.
Merz said in a statement on Monday: "The situation in international stock and bond markets is dramatic and threatens to worsen, restoring Germany's competitiveness is more urgent than ever and must be at the heart of coalition negotiations."
Germany, along with other EU countries, faces 25% tariffs on steel, aluminum, and automobile imports, and 20% "reciprocal" tariffs effective Wednesday on virtually all other goods.
These tariffs further exacerbate Germany's economic crisis, hampering the incoming government's attempts to pull Europe's largest economy out of a two-year recession.
Germany's benchmark index was among the hardest-hit markets in the eurozone on Monday, opening down about 10% before recovering some of those losses.
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