Germany's Merz set to press for lower tariffs in Trump meeting
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will today push for reduced American tariffs in his first meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC.
Merz will also highlight his country's increased defense spending and press for stronger American support for Ukraine, hoping to leverage what has so far been a positive, if distant, relationship: The two former businessmen text each other and are on a first-name basis, Handelsblatt noted.
The visit is crucial for Merz — Germany's huge manufacturing and carmaking sectors are particularly vulnerable to Trump's steel and auto tariffs — but he also has cards to play, The Wall Street Journal said, and is expected to argue that Washington needs Europe in order to present a unified front against China.
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Forbes
6 minutes ago
- Forbes
Fusion Energy May Be The Key To World Hegemony
What would it take for the United States to lose its hegemony to a rising power like China? Right now, America appears to be ahead economically and militarily. However, there is a stark difference between America's national strategy (insofar as one exists) and China's. The US under President Trump calls for regression. It seeks to restore a manufacturing economy that peaked in the 1950s—like an elderly man trying to restore hair where it hasn't grown for decades. It is doubling down on domestic oil, gas and coal. Through tariffs, disparagement of NATO and aggression towards allies like Canada and Denmark, the administration has alienated partners that long supported a US-led world order. China, meanwhile, has a tremendous lead in developing the economy of the future. It has a near monopoly on rare earth minerals, which are needed for electronics, renewable energy systems, defense technologies and more. China leads in solar, wind and batteries, the energy systems growing at the fastest rate. It is ahead in electric vehicles, industrial robotics and drones as well. It probably has achieved parity in artificial intelligence and may surpass the US soon. If China were to take Taiwan, it would control the global market for advanced chip manufacturing. In the background, but probably most importantly, China may be on track to commercialize fusion energy before the US or its disgruntled allies. Unlike the US, China has no domestic energy industry with vocal lobbyists (and purchasable politicians) to slow progress. It is funding fusion as a national strategy while private fusion companies in the West are at the mercy of investors that, for the most part, chase low risk and quick returns. Fusion promises cheap, plentiful, baseload energy without carbon emissions. AI, data centers and industrial robotics powered by fusion would produce goods and services at much lower costs than value chains dependent on fossil-fired electricity. Militaries built on swarms of small, cheap, electronic drones and robots—powered by small, distributed fusion facilities deep underground, safe from attack—would have an edge over competitors using large, expensive, petroleum-powered vehicles with vulnerable supply chains. I cannot overstate the ramifications of China developing fusion first. As an analogy, imagine if Japan and Germany had uncovered vast reserves of oil at home in the 1920s. American and Soviet oil gave the Allies a strategic advantage over the Axis powers. Had the situation been reversed, World War II could have ended differently. While private fusion companies in the West have raised about $8 billion total, China is investing at least $1.5 annually into fusion projects—double what the US government spends. Japanese and German investments in fusion don't even come close. Canada, for the record, has no fusion funding strategy. Moreover, the government of British Columbia, home of industry leader General Fusion, seems not to understand the value of this crown asset.* On all fronts nuclear, China is leaping ahead. In April, its scientists added fresh fuel to an operational thorium molten salt reactor—a first. The thorium reserves found in Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region of China, could theoretically meet Chinese energy demand for thousands of years. The kicker: this reactor design originated in the US. As project lead Xu Hongjie put it, 'The US left its research publicly available, waiting for the right successor. We were that successor." Moreover, in January, China's Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) sustained a fusion reaction for 1,066 seconds, setting a new record. Its Burning Plasma Experimental Superconducting Tokamak (BEST) fusion reactor could come online by 2027 and is expected to produce five times the amount of energy it consumes. When BEST announces this milestone, Western fusion companies may be announcing that they've run out of funding. To China, fusion is not a startup project—it's a matter of national interest and security. Its scientists are patenting more fusion-related technologies than any other single country and graduating more doctorates in fusion-related fields. And because China is the top refiner and exporter of the critical minerals needed in fusion reactors (e.g., for magnets), no external force is going to slow their progress. In the meantime, China has a cheap gas station next door—Russia—supplying all the fossil fuels China could need in exchange for support in its war with Ukraine. That support includes critical minerals needed by Russian arms manufacturers. Is fusion energy, along with other Chinese-dominated technologies, enough to end US hegemony? In 1988, historian Paul Kennedy published The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, a book that tried to explain the relative success (and failure) of powerful states. According to Kennedy, their rise and fall '…shows a very significant correlation over the longer term between productive and revenue-raising capacities on the one hand and military strength on the other.' Essentially, states must balance economic prosperity with strategy. Technological breakthroughs are vital to both. Innovation creates wealth, which enables the state to invest in defense and win wars. While underinvestment in defense leaves the state vulnerable to other powers, overextension and overspending on defense can run an economy into the ground, leaving it unable to sustain a strong military. Now, picture a great power—China—with a military to rival the US and fusion reactors that provide virtually unlimited energy. Imagine the clout China would have in establishing ports, military bases and consumer markets around the world if it could license that fusion technology. A China that exceeds the US in energy, industry, intelligence, mobility and defense is positioned to usurp it. Of course, China could bungle its advantage. Authoritarian regimes have a habit of mismanaging internal dissent, falsifying reality and making preventable mistakes. The rise of China is inevitable, but the self-inflicted decline of the US and its allies isn't. Rather, it's a choice reflecting how societies invest their resources and envision their future. *Disclosure: The author is an investor in General Fusion and sits on its board of directors.
Wall Street Journal
11 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
U.S. Hiring Slowed in May Amid Tariff Uncertainty - Minute Briefing
Full Transcript This transcript was prepared by a transcription service. This version may not be in its final form and may be updated. Zoe Kuhlkin: Here's your Midday Brief for Friday, June 6th. I'm Zoe Kuhlkin for The Wall Street Journal. The US added 139,000 jobs in May, the Labor Department reported today. The figure was above economists' expectations, but the slower growth serves as a sign employers remained cautious amid all of the tariff uncertainty. The employment rate, which is based on a separate survey from the jobs figures, remained at 4.2%. Federal government employment shrank by 22,000 jobs, the fourth consecutive month of such declines. Industrial production in the Eurozone's two largest economies has declined in the first month of President Trump's global tariff blitz. German and French industrial output both contracted 1.4% in April. A sign that an economic slowdown is underway after a start to the year that was even stronger than first estimated. Trade data published today showed goods exports to the US from Germany sank 10.5% as companies adapted to the new trade reality. And Switzerland has proposed some of the strictest capital rules in the world on banking giant UBS in an attempt to prevent another Credit Suisse style meltdown, protect taxpayers, and restore the country's reputation as a haven for rich people. The proposal would require UBS to hold around $26 billion in additional equity capital and reduce its reliance on hybrid bonds that can convert to equity. UBS has openly opposed this proposal and today's reforms are a blow to their arguments. The government said the main measures could take six to eight years to fully take effect. We'll have more coverage of the day's news on the WSJ's What's News Podcast. You can add it to your playlist on your smart speaker or listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Newsweek
12 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Pope Leo Faces First Major Test Over 'Morally Corrupt' Bishop
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Pope Leo XIV is set to face one of his first major tests with a petition addressed to him calling for the removal of Cologne Archbishop Rainer Maria Woelki over concerns about his handling of sexual abuse allegations. Newsweek has contacted the Vatican via email, for comment. Why It Matters As the newly elected pope, people will be watching how Leo handles concerns about sex abuse in the church. How the Vatican responds to the petition, which has more than 60,000 signatures, could set the tone for Pope Leo's leadership style and his stance on episcopal accountability worldwide. Pope Leo XIV leaves after his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican on June 4, 2025. Pope Leo XIV leaves after his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican on June 4, 2025. AP What To Know Woelki has long been a divisive figure in the church amid criticism of his handling of sexual abuse cases in the archdiocese of Cologne. In September 2021, Pope Francis decided to leave Woelki in office despite massive criticism over his handling of the sexual abuse cases. The pontiff instead gave the cardinal a "spiritual timeout" of several months after he made "major errors" of communication. Woelki had infuriated many local Catholics by citing legal concerns to keep under wraps a report on how local church officials reacted when priests were accused of sexual abuse. He commissioned a second report, and a German law firm produced an 800-page investigation. The report he commissioned absolved Woelki himself of any neglect of his legal duties with respect to abuse victims. He subsequently said he made mistakes in past cases involving sexual abuse allegations but made clear he had no intention of resigning. The Cologne public prosecutor's office had been investigating Cardinal Woelki since autumn 2022 for possible false testimony regarding his knowledge of abuse allegations, according to the Catholic News Agency. In summer 2023, his apartment and offices were searched. However, at the beginning of May 2025, investigations of the cardinal were ended after the payment of a 26,000-euro (about $29,700) fine. The Archdiocese of Cologne told Newsweek: "As is well known, the presumption of innocence public prosecutor's office has expressly confirmed that Cardinal Woelki did not make a deliberately false statement and therefore did not commit perjury." Munich priest Wolfgang F. Rothe, who started the petition on May 26, wrote that "in dealing with allegations of sexual abuse, (Woelki) gravely violated his duty of care. "Against this backdrop, Cardinal Woelki is completely morally corrupt. He has lost all credibility, both in public and within the Archdiocese of Cologne and the Catholic Church in Germany," Rothe said. "Leaders in politics and society do not want to be seen with him, parishes are not visited by him, and confirmation candidates are not confirmed by him." "His behavior is a severe slap in the face to the many victims of sexual abuse and undermines efforts to address sexual abuse in other German dioceses and in the universal Church," Rothe added. In March 2022, after Francis ordered an official review of Woelki's archdiocese, the Vatican found no evidence of unlawful conduct—although it said major errors of communication had been made. It also praised Woelki's willingness to be investigated, the Catholic News Agency reported. What People Are Saying Munich priest Wolfgang F. Rothe wrote in his petition: "Cardinal Woelki is largely isolated both within the Archdiocese of Cologne and within the Catholic Church in Germany. He is a shepherd without a flock. And the Archdiocese of Cologne is a flock without a shepherd." Riccardo Wagner, Head of the Media School at Fresenius University of Applied Sciences Cologne, was critical of the petition in an interview with the Catholic newspaper Die Tagespost. He said: "The platform and the petition act as if sacramental offices could be legitimized or delegitimized by digital public opinion – this fundamentally contradicts the nature of the Church, which is why this approach and means must be clearly rejected." The Archdiocese of Cologne told Newsweek: "For Cardinal Woelki, the end of the proceedings marks the end. He now wants to devote all his energy to the future of the Archdiocese of Cologne together with the faithful." What Happens Next It is yet to be seen how Leo will respond to this petition and what the impact of his decision will be.
