EU seeks to widen market access to counter trade restrictions, Germany's Merz says

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said ​on Tuesday that the European Union ​is seeking to collaborate more deeply ‌on open ​market access to counter restrictions on global trade, including with Southeast Asia and members of the CPTPP trade pact.

The world ‌is changing and the EU, with 450 million consumers, has become more active in seeking and building on partnerships to expand free trade with open competition, reliability and a rules-based order, Merz said ‌during a visit to Singapore.