The latest news on Germany. During a government Open Day on Sunday, an event where people can visit Berlin institutions and participate in discussions, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has urged the country to seek fresh trade partners as global conditions shift.
"How do we handle world trade if for example the Americans are no longer prepared to play by the rules of the World Trade Organisation? We should search for partners in the world that share our thinking," Friedrich Merz said at a government Open Day.
"We need good economic relations with the US, and we may have got off lightly." He also highlighted concerns about the US stance on international trade rules and suggested that future opportunities could lie in regions such as South America, Asia, and Africa.
While affirming the importance of stable relations with the United States, he stressed the need for diversification to secure long-term resilience. Chancellor Friedrich Merz also talked about social security: "We have to make our social security systems fit for the future."
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