German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged the European Union to strengthen its trade defenses against countries that distort competition, putting trade policy on the agenda days before EU leaders meet in Brussels amid mounting Chinese pressure on Europe’s industrial base.
Merz did not name China in his June 11 government statement before the Bundestag, but he said EU leaders meeting on June 18–19 would discuss how to expand the bloc’s trade-policy “toolbox” when other countries fail to follow common rules.
