Germany should look for new trade partners, Chancellor Merz says

BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany should look beyond a trade deal between the United States and the European Union that slaps 15% tariffs on EU goods by finding new trade partners in coming years, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday.

"How do we handle world trade if for example the Americans are no longer prepared to play by the rules of the World Trade Organisation? " Merz said at a government Open Day, an event where people can visit Berlin institutions and participate in discussions.

"We should search for partners in the world that share our thinking," added Merz , leader of the conservative CDU party whose approval rating stands at 25% - level with Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) - according to an INSA poll published by newspaper Bild this weekend.

The July 28 framework trade deal was brokered between U.S. President Donald Trump and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

"We need good economic relations with the U.S., and we may have got off lightly," said Merz, noting that trade possibilities might open up in South America, Asia and Africa, and should be of mutual benefit.

"We must consistently go down that road," he said.

Merz also said basic questions regarding social security systems needed to be addressed by the end of the year, arguing that the government must rein in welfare spending on employment, pension and health benefits.

"We have to make our social security systems fit for the future," he said.

(Reporting by Vera Eckert and Andreas Rinke; Editing by David Holmes)

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