@randahl That is the point, but the chief adviser to German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD), Jens Südekum, has advised restraint in response to Trump’s latest tariff threats. “The EU should simply wait and see for now,” Südekum told the Reuters news agency.
It is well known that Trump often suspends or withdraws his grandiose tariff threats just as quickly as he makes them.
— Jens Südekum,
With this position, Trump will put pressure on Canada, the UK, and the EU more and more, because Germany can't take a hard line against Trump's policies."