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German politicians across party lines denounced European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday, calling for her resignation after she agreed to asymmetric trade terms that impose 15% US tariffs on EU exports while granting Americans duty-free access to European markets.
The deal, struck under pressure from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz both in public and behind the scenes to avoid threatened 30% punitive tariffs, triggered unprecedented cross-party criticism in Germany, where lawmakers described the arrangement as a “capitulation” and “betrayal of Europe”.
Merz himself initially appeared satisfied. “With the agreement, we have succeeded in averting a trade conflict that would have hit the export-oriented German economy hard,” the German chancellor said on Sunday.
By Monday evening, however, Merz suddenly had a change of heart, expressing strong reservations. The agreed tariffs were now a “considerable burden” for the German economy, in the eyes of Merz.
Under the agreement announced Sunday, EU products face 15% US tariffs while American goods enter Europe levy-free. For the EU, the US tariff rate for steel and aluminium imports will remain at 50%.
The EU also committed to purchasing $750 billion in US energy and pledged $600 billion in European corporate investments in America.
The deal led to an unprecedented wave of shock and outrage across all camps of German politics. Now, for the first time in a long time, all German parties are criticising the move.
“Due to pressure from the German chancellor, the EU has agreed to a deal that abandons fundamental principles of rules-based global trade. Instead of long-term stability, the agreement creates uncertainty,” Sandra Detzer from the Greens said, slamming the deal at the Bundestag.
In fact, this agreement hits Germany particularly hard. According to the Institute for Economic Research (IfW), the deal will cost the German economy around €6.5 billion in terms of its GDP in the first year.
“This is an inadequate compromise and sends a fatal signal to the closely interlinked economies on both sides of the Atlantic,” warned Wolfgang Niedermark from the Federation of German Industries (BDI).
A rate of 15% is set to have immense adverse effects, and the lack of an agreement for steel exports was an “additional low blow”, he pointed out.
‘Von der Leyen should resign for this worst deal ever’
German EU politician Fabio De Masi (BSW) is also shocked.
“This bad deal will do immense economic damage to Europe – it is a betrayal of Europe. Mrs von der Leyen should resign for this worst deal ever,” he told Euronews.
“While the US is to export duty-free to the EU, EU exporters will be subject to a 15% tariff. In addition, European companies are to make direct investments worth hundreds of billions of US dollars.”
“So Trump is hitting us with new punitive tariffs and, as business, we are filling his order books with purchases of dirty US fracking gas and defence equipment.”
EU politician Svenja Hahn (FDP) concurs. “15% tariffs are better than the threatened 30 – but the deal is not a success. At best, it is damage control,” she told Euronews.
The deal struck on Sunday represents “unbalanced to the detriment of the EU, contains no substantial successes” and weakens “rules-based trade”.
“Ursula von der Leyen has damaged the EU’s reputation and economic strength with her weak conduct of negotiations, she must finally deliver: less bureaucracy, a strong internal market and real progress on free trade agreements, especially Mercosur,” Hahn explained.
German-Polish MEP Tomasz Froelich (AfD) told Euronews that the agreement reached is “not a deal”, but “a capitulation of the EU”, as there had been no serious attempt to exert pressure on the US, according to him.
“This declaration of bankruptcy stands in stark contrast to the EU’s otherwise grandiloquent behaviour on the international stage: confrontation in all directions, leaving hardly any options, especially in the area of energy imports,” he explained.
“I will work in the EU Parliament to ensure that this humiliating and ruinous agreement is prevented after all,” Froelich, who serves as the first deputy head of the AfD delegation at the European Parliament, added.
Governing parties lob criticism too
Ruling CDU/CSU lawmaker Johannes Winkel stepped up to the plate.
“This humiliation of Europe by the US must above all be a reason for self-criticism,” Winkel warned on X.
“Energy saving, bureaucracy, ESG instead of innovation, growth and technology. This politically motivated economic self-deprecation must end.”
Others representing the coalition partner SPD also dared to come forward with particularly harsh criticism.
Bremen’s mayor, Andreas Bovenschulte said on X: “The worst thing is how our EU leader is allowing herself to be humiliated into licking Trump’s boots and flattering him as a ‘tough – even fair – dealmaker’. Not a spark of honour in her body.”
The SPD politician later walked back on a part of his statement. “I take back the honour thing. That was a bit harsh,” he said.
In his hometown of Bremen, thousands of jobs at the ArcelorMittal steel plant are in jeopardy.
Bavaria’s Minister President Markus Söder (CSU) was honest and made it clear on Monday: things cannot go on like this.
“The customs deal has prevented the worst,” Söder said, “but the situation is now more difficult than before, especially for the automotive industry.”
“That’s why it must be clear: There must be no additional taxes in Europe, as the EU is currently planning.”
Relief would now be needed to offset the tariffs. Söder criticised von der Leyen: “We simply need to do less of a Green Deal in Europe and more of an Economic Deal.”
Economic expert and longstanding German MEP Markus Ferber (CSU) also made it clear to the Bild newspaper: “If you consider that our offer was the complete elimination of all tariffs, then the deal is not a great success.”
“Fifteen per cent makes European products massively more expensive in the US and will hit the German economy particularly hard. Even if a non-agreement would have been even more expensive, a good deal looks different.”
