Shipping containers are loaded and unloaded onto ships at the Port of Los Angeles, California, on July 9, 2025. US President Donald Trump has sent letters to multiple countries dictating new US tariff rates on their countries' imports to the USA. Photo: VCG

The Trump administration's tariffs threaten the American economy at least as much the European one, German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said on Wednesday, calling for a "fair deal" with the Americans, Reuters reported.

The US' tariffs "have only losers," Klingbeil said.

"We are experiencing global trade conflicts, and we are firmly and jointly convinced that European sovereignty is all the more important in these times," Klingbeil said in Berlin, speaking to the press with his French counterpart, Eric Lombard. If a deal is not possible, decisive countermeasures are needed, according to the report.

The US has threatened a 30 percent tariff on imports from the EU from August 1, a level European officials say is unacceptable and would end normal trade between two of the world's largest markets, Reuters reported.

The media outlet reported that that would mean zero growth this year and 1.2 percent growth next year in Germany, Europe's biggest economy, according to the IMK institute.

"A rapid implementation of the planned public investment offensive could significantly reduce the economic risks in Germany," said IMK.