Keynote speech in Singapore Merz wants to deepen trade with Asia As of: October 27, 2026 • 11:43 a.m

During his trip to Asia, Chancellor Merz advocates expanding free trade with the region tagesschau, Das Erste, October 27, 2026 • 12:00 p.m. Specifically, the Chancellor spoke out in favor of a free trade agreement between the EU and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). “Let us work together towards a major interregional agreement with the members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership,” said Merz. Together, Europe and the Indo-Pacific would have considerable influence and together we could protect and promote free and fair world trade.

The German economy could also benefit from new free trade agreements.

“This is a conscious counterpoint to what we are currently seeing in terms of restrictions on global trade,” said Merz, also alluding to the USA under President Donald Trump. "We want an international trade order that is based on peaceful relationships and fair rules among equals. A new nationalism would lead us down the wrong path."

If Europe, the ASEAN countries as well as Japan and South Korea came together, they could very quickly catch up with the USA's lead in areas such as artificial intelligence, said Merz.

Merz's meeting with Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong was also about economic cooperation. Wong criticized the fact that we are currently experiencing a restriction on global free trade. "The world is becoming more fragmented, there is more division and we want to create more connections between different regions and between Germany and Singapore," said the Prime Minister. “We fully support Germany’s participation in the CPTPP,” said Wong.

With information from Jennifer Johnston, ARD Singapore