A prominent group within the German Social Democratic Party (SPD), known as the Seeheimer Kreis, is calling for a reassessment of the European Union’s trade negotiations with the United States, drawing lessons from the period under former U.S. President Donald Trump. The group’s newly released policy paper, dubbed the “Brussels Declaration” outlines a series of demands across economic, legal, digital and defense sectors.
The document emphasizes the need for the EU to “refine the results of these negotiations in the short term and become aware of its own strength in the long term”. According to the declaration, obtained and reported on by German news portal T-Online, the EU must proactively address the impact of past trade deals.
Daniel Walter, a Member of the German Bundestag and key author of the paper, has directly urged European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to pursue corrective measures regarding the trade agreement with the U.S. He stated that the EU can only conduct successful negotiations from a position of strength, highlighting Trump’s tendency to test the EU’s resolve through escalating tariff threats. Walter underscored the necessity to staunchly defend European interests to safeguard German industry.
Specific concerns were raised regarding the expansion of U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs, which have now encompassed approximately 400 additional EU exports carrying a 50% tariff. Walter particularly pointed to the detrimental effects on the German mechanical engineering sector. Beyond the tariffs themselves, he voiced significant concerns about the increased bureaucratic burden placed on businesses, forced to calculate the steel or aluminum content of each product for tariff assessment.