9 May 2025 – London and Washington have agreed on a trade deal in the tariffs dispute. Meanwhile, the EU still doesn’t seem to be making any progress on the issue. Instead of flying to Washington: New German Chancellor unfortunately only talks to US President Trump on the phone. China’s exports and imports in April much more stable than expected.
UK-US agree on trade deal – where is the EU?
As was announced yesterday, the United Kingdom and the United States were able to agree on a trade deal on US President Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs from 2 April 2025.
The UK has thus once again shown that it is clearly ahead of the game when it comes to trade with the United States. Even if the official announcements from the US and UK regarding a possible agreement on steel and aluminium tariffs were very different.
Merz and Trump want to reach an agreement quickly in the trade dispute
Yesterday, the new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and US President Donald Trump spoke on the phone about the tariff issue, among other things, and at least the German government announced that both sides wanted to reach an agreement on the trade dispute quickly.
However, we wonder why the German Chancellor has not already been on a plane and travelled to the United States. When it comes to urgent and important matters, you normally get on a plane and deal with them in person – after all, it worked during the inaugural visits to Poland and France.
And in Berlin, please don’t just claim that Washington is further away than Warsaw or Paris. With such a comfortable government plane, the travelling time can also be used as working time. After all, this is also expected of entrepreneurs.
Trade deal: Is the European Union once again lagging behind?
Ms von der Leyen, why haven’t you been to the White House in Washington yet, even though we’ve already called for it several times? Brussels still doesn’t seem to be any closer to finding a solution to the tariffs dispute with the US.
China’s foreign trade increased significantly in April
China’s foreign trade developed better than expected in April 2025. Exports rose by 8.1 per cent compared to the previous year, significantly exceeding forecasts. It is particularly noteworthy that imports remained almost stable with a minimal decline of just 0.2 per cent, although a significant decline had been expected.
This development shows the resilience of the Chinese economy despite global challenges. The increase in exports is partly due to a reorientation of trade flows towards Southeast Asia. This diversification strengthens China’s position in international trade relations and emphasises the adaptability of its economy.
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