Germany’s Merz calls for stronger global trade partnerships

German chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday that the EU will take the lead in shaping a better offer when free trade and the rules-based trading order come under pressure.

“We want to offer opportunities beyond bilateral agreements,” Merz told the Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business in Seoul.

Germany was willing to act with like-minded partners in Europe and elsewhere to defend and further develop the rules-based global economic order, Merz said.

He said that many countries owed their prosperity to international trade and were unwilling to give it up.

Merz, on a week-long Asia tour that has also taken him to Singapore and Japan, held a summit with South Korean president Lee Jae Myung on Thursday.

The two leaders set out an enhanced security partnership.

During his Asian trip, Merz has sought to deepen defence and economic ties with like-minded countries amid concerns over US tariffs and China’s state-backed industrial expansion.

Merz said on Friday that the structural similarity between South Korean and German industries offered opportunities for deepening bilateral cooperation.

South Korea’s industry ministry said in a statement that South Korean and German companies and organisations signed nine memoranda of understanding to support startups and market entry in fields such as electricity, energy and biohealth.