The EU Commission has announced plans to impose new tariffs on Chinese exports to Europe, which it claims are in response to “market distortion” (price dumping etc.) by China. The question now is whether German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will stick to his February agreements with Chinese leaders, where he pledged to avoid a new trade war. Yesterday, during a speech at the Bundestag, Merz said he was “open to” EU measures against “distorting” Chinese practices, however he said he would discuss it with the Chinese before making new decisions.