02/21/2026February 21, 2026View from Germany: China replaces US as Germany’s top trading partner
China has overtaken the US to become Germany’s biggest trading partner, according to the latest official data.
Bilateral trade between China and Germany was €251.8 billion ($296.6 billion) in 2025, compared with €240.5 billion with the US.
In a report published on Friday, Germany’s Federal Statistics Office noted a 5% drop in US trade compared to 2024, when the US held the dominant position.
Germany, the EU’s largest economy and exporter, was forced to navigate multiple trade obstacles imposed by the Trump administration at various points in 2025.
https://p.dw.com/p/59CWG
02/21/2026February 21, 2026EU readies tariff stance before Merz goes to Washington
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he would present Donald Trump with a “very clear European position” during his visit to the US in early March.
Speaking to state broadcaster ARD, Merz said EU member states will coordinate with each other in the coming days to formulate a unified policy.
“Tariffs are a matter for the European Union, not the individual member states,” said the German leader.
The wealthy European bloc, comprised mostly of US allies, has suffered numerous trade shocks since Trump’s return to office in early 2025.
On Saturday, chairman of the European Parliament’s trade committee Bernd Lange said there was a realistic chance for the US trade penalties to be repaid.
Lange, a German politician, was commenting on the Supreme Court decision that struck down many of Trump’s tariffs. T
Speaking to public radio “Deutschlandfunk,” Lange estimated that German exporters and their US partners may have overpaid by over €100 billion ($118 billion).
The EU official also said he had called a special meeting of the European Parliament’s negotiators and legal advisers for Monday, saying that the US-EU trade deal the bloc was trying to implement now lacks legal grounding.
https://p.dw.com/p/59CPa
02/21/2026February 21, 2026What was the Supreme Court decision on Trump’s emergency tariffs?
Donald Trump raised a global tariff to 15% in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling announced on Friday.
On Friday, Supreme Court justices, divided 6-3, said that many of Trump’s tariffs were impermissible.
The court said the president did not have the authority to introduce the tariffs under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which the administration used as the legal ground to impose tariffs.
https://p.dw.com/p/59CFF
02/21/2026February 21, 2026Germany’s Merz to travel to Washington amid tariff turmoil
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told German public broadcaster ARD that he will be traveling to Washington with a “coordinated European position.”
His comments came before US President Donald Trump raised global tariffs to 15% on Saturday.
The German chancellor was speaking with German media outlets after a party conference in Stuttgart came to a close.
He told German broadcaster RTL that “constant uncertainty” on tariffs was “the biggest poison for the economies in Europe and the US.”
“This uncertainty needs to end,” he told the private television network. “And I will make an effort to do so.”
https://p.dw.com/p/59CEX
02/21/2026February 21, 2026Trump calls Supreme Court tariff ‘extraordinarily anti-American’
In a post published on his Truth Social network, US President Donald Trump said the Supreme Court decision to strike down tariffs was “ridiculous, poorly written, and extraordinarily anti-American.”
He said his decision to raise new tariffs from 10% to 15% was “fully allowed, and legally tested.”
“During the next short number of months, the Trump Administration will determine and issue the new and legally permissible Tariffs, which will continue our extraordinarily successful process of Making America Great Again — GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE!!!” he added.
Trump introduced his controversial import charges under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). In their Friday decision, however, the justices at the top US court stated that the law “does not authorize the president to impose tariffs” and that this power was reserved for lawmakers.
The US president quickly responded by announcing a 10% global tariff under a different law.
Trump invoked Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 as the legal basis for his decision. The new levies can take effect for 150 days before the duties require approval from US Congress.
https://p.dw.com/p/59CDk
02/21/2026February 21, 2026Donald Trump raises tariffs to 15%
After the Supreme Court struck down most of President Donald Trump’s controversial trade tariffs as unconstitutional, he announced new levies of 15% worldwide.
The move would be “effective immediately,” Trump said in a social media post.
Trump also said many of the countries affected had been “ripping” the US off for decades “without retribution (until I came along!)” without providing details.
The financial fallout of his decision and the effects on it for US trading partners were not immediately clear.
https://p.dw.com/p/59CDb
Hello from the DW newsroom.
In this live blog, we are following updates on the Trump administration’s trade tariffs.
On Saturday, the US president announced a “worldwide tariff” of 15%, raising it from the previously announced 10% levy.
It comes after the US Supreme Court ruled Friday that the US president exceeded his authority by implementing his tariff agenda using a law reserved for a national emergency.
https://p.dw.com/p/59CDa