WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) is "too weak" in its negotiations with the United States on new tariffs, German Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said Monday during a visit to Washington.
"I think we were too weak. We can't be satisfied with the result that was achieved," Klingbeil told journalists ahead of a meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
His remarks referred to the agreement reached late last month between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and U.S. President Donald Trump. Under the deal, most EU imports to the United States will face a 15-percent tariff, while the bloc will buy more U.S. energy products and increase investment there.
But the agreement has been criticized across Europe, with critics warning that even a 15-percent tariff would inflict serious damage to the European economy.
Just a day after the deal was announced, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz voiced a similar view, saying Europe's largest economy would face "substantial damage" from the Brussels-Washington agreement. Its negative effects "will not only be limited to Germany and Europe, but we will see the effects of this trade policy in America as well," Merz said. ■
