Berlin, June 7 (UNI) German Chancellor Fredrich Merz has expressed a positive outlook on his meeting with US President Donald Trump, saying that he was confident that Washington’s commitment to protecting its European partners was still as strong as ever.

“My conclusion from this encounter is different from perhaps the public image,” Merz said during a business summit in Berlin, following his inaugural visit to the White House the day before.

“This American government is open to discussion, listens, is prepared to accept other opinions … You can talk to them. But you can’t let them intimidate you,” he added, reports Politico.

Trump’s more friendly and positive relationship with Russian President Vladmir Putin, coupled with his administration’s more anti-Zelensky approach, Trump’s reciprocal trade tariffs, and its threats of pulling out of Russia-Ukraine peace talks, had left Germany and most of Europe uncertain about its future relationship with Washington.

Due to this, Merz’s visit was strongly focused on three key issues: U.S’ continued support for Ukraine, the future of NATO and Europe’s trade negotiations with Washington.

When asked about concrete outcomes, Merz confidently said that the US govt was still aligned with NATO, and that the White House would further strengthen its engagements with the German Chancellery.

“We will be advising two representatives who are now talking intensively with each other about German-American trade relations embedded in the European framework,” he said. “The lunch was worth its weight in gold for that.”

The German Chancellor added, that he would extensively brief the European Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen later about the meeting, and how it should approach its dialogue with Washington, regarding the 50% hike on steel and aluminium tariffs, as the entire EU is looking to strike a far-reaching deal with the US.

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