Berlin has supported the EU's approach behind closed doors for months.
The European Commission on Tuesday fired back at German criticism of its U.S. trade deal, saying it was made with the “clear signal” from member countries that it was what they wanted.
German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil lambasted last month’s EU-U.S. trade deal as “weak,” ahead of a trip to Washington.
“I must admit we were quite surprised to hear this statement from the German minister,” Olof Gill, the Commission’s spokesperson for trade, told reporters.
EU countries, Gill added, “have insisted to us that only a negotiated solution could ensure stability and protect our shared interests. This was the view of an overwhelming majority of EU member states,” including Germany.
A Commission official granted anonymity to speak freely said “only a small minority” of countries wanted to risk a trade war with the U.S. “Member states pushed for this outcome.”
Klingbeil is in Washington to meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Ahead of the visit, the German minister said of the trade deal: “I think we were too weak, and we cannot be satisfied with the result that was achieved.”
The deal sets a baseline tariff of 15 percent on EU imports to the U.S.; the EU will not hit U.S. exports with new fees and agreed to cut tariffs on American cars to zero.
However, steel and aluminum are not included and they face a separate 50 percent tariff. While the EU has been saying the two sides agreed to negotiate new quotas based on historic trade flows, the U.S. has not acknowledged that so far.
Klingbeil said he wants to see if the U.S. is willing to negotiate on steel and aluminum, although such talks are conducted by the European Commission and not by the bloc’s member countries.
“There is talk of quota regulations for steel,” Klingbeil told Deutschlandfunk on Monday. “That would be good if they were in place. I will, of course, test here what steps the U.S. government is prepared to take.”
The European Commission regularly informs the 27 member countries via their ambassadors in Brussels of trade talk progress, and there are also extra meetings of trade ministers. However, it’s not uncommon for national politicians to publicly criticize the Commission while their representatives in Brussels support broader unity.
