More potential havoc lies ahead for Germany and its economy if Trump makes good on his threat to levy high tariffs on imports.
Economists have warned that such protectionist measures could spell a blow hard enough to wipe one percent off Germany’s gross domestic product and kill 300,000 jobs.
Trump has also demanded NATO allies step up defence spending to as high as five percent of GDP — equating to 100 billion euros a year for Germany, which it can ill afford.
‘On the wrong foot’
Merz’s Bavarian ally, CSU leader Markus Soeder, said the second Trump administration “will be a difficult test because one can feel the growing distance to Europe, and especially to Germany”.
