The leader of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) on Wednesday criticized Donald Trump‘s tariff policy, despite her admiration for the US president.
“My message to Donald Trump is that tariffs are fundamentally bad for free trade. They harm us both, and that’s clear to see everywhere,” Alice Weidel told journalists in Berlin in response to a question.
The US president’s move is not surprising, she said, “but the whole approach is of course much too aggressive and it also damages the American economy.”
Weidel, who has sought proximity to the US government, said a few days ago that tariffs are “poison for free trade,” but stopped short of criticizing Trump’s move. Her co-party leader, Tino Chrupalla, later showed understanding for Trump’s policy.
Weidel on Wednesday repeated her call to negotiate with Washington to abolish the tariffs. “Because they are harming Germany, which is still an exporting nation, above all, they are harming us above all,” she said.
A wave of tariffs on US imports announced by Trump last week came into force on Wednesday, including a toll of 20% on goods from the European Union.
They followed the introduction of a baseline levy of 10% on imports from almost all of Washington’s trading partners on Saturday.
After the US presidential election, Weidel described Trump as a role model because of his commitment to national interests.
She also received campaign support from White House adviser Elon Musk in the run-up to Germany’s parliamentary election and met with US Vice President JD Vance on the fringes of the Munich Security Conference, while Chrupalla attended Trump’s inauguration in Washington.