Friedrich Merz

The fact that two of the world's three largest economies are engaged in trade with each other generates great momentum, both for us and beyond.

The potential that still exists here is also evident from this trip.

You've chosen a grim motto for this conference, under destruction.

And it probably means that the international order based on rights and rules is currently being destroyed.

But I'm afraid we have to put it in even harsher terms.

This order, as flawed as it has been even in its heyday,

We Germans know a world in which might makes right would be a dark place.

Our country has gone down this path in the 20th century until the bitter and dreadful end.

Today, we embark on a different, a better path.

If there had been a unipolar moment after the fall of the Berlin Wall, a unipolar moment in history, it has long passed.

The United States' claim to leadership has been challenged and possibly lost.

Even the United States will not be powerful enough to go it alone.

Dear friends, being a part of NATO is not only Europe's competitive advantage.

It's also the United States' competitive advantage.

We want...

to forge a new transatlantic partnership.

And let me start with the inconvenient truth right from the start.

A divide has opened up between Europe and the United States.

We do not want this escalation.

We do not want a trade dispute with the United States of America.