- Title: Trump will buckle under pressure from Europe, says German economy minister
- Date: 3rd April 2025
- Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (APRIL 3, 2025) (REUTERS) GERMAN ECONOMY MINISTER ROBERT HABECK ARRIVING AT PRESS CONFERENCE CAMERAS HABECK SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN ECONOMY MINISTER, ROBERT HABECK, SAYING: "That is what I see, that Donald Trump buckles under pressure, corrects his announcements under pressure, but the logical consequence is that he must also feel the pressure,
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: EU European Union Germany Habeck Tariffs Trump US USA United States
- Location: BERLIN, GERMANY
- City: BERLIN, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Europe,Government/Politics,International Trade
- Reuters ID: LVA001384603042025RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: U.S. President Donald Trump will buckle under pressure from Germany and Europe in an escalating trade war, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Thursday (April 3).
"That is what I see, that Donald Trump buckles under pressure, corrects his announcements under pressure, but the logical consequence is that he must also feel the pressure, and this pressure must now be exerted from Germany, from Europe," Habeck said during a press conference in Berlin.
The European Union must "act with unity and determination", Habeck said, adding that counter-measures would be implemented in a well-considered way that would protect national economies while at the same time exerting maximum counter-pressure.
The outgoing minister also called for establishing closer ties with countries such as Canada and Mexico. "When you talk to them, you realise that what we are thinking is exactly what they are thinking. So forging an alliance with Canada and Mexico, for example, is the order of the day," Habeck said.
Habeck criticised Trump's "basic assumption" that the U.S. had not benefited from globalisation. The United States has been "one of the biggest winners of globalisation", as shown by the fact that it has had significantly higher GDP growth rates than Europe in recent years, Habeck said. "The fact that they were not distributing their wealth fairly in their country is their domestic political problem, he added.
(Production: Tobias Schlie, Johannes Toft Thyssen) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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