Friedrich Merz, a top German political leader, says he is surprised. He went to Asia to talk about business, but he found that leaders there are very worried about Europe’s plans for the car industry.

Europe wants to push a "Made in Europe" strategy for electric vehicles. The goal is to help European car companies grow. But countries like Japan are nervous. They worry that these new rules will act like a wall, making it hard for Japanese car makers to sell their vehicles in Europe.

Sanae Takaichi, a high-ranking official in Japan, specifically asked Merz to make sure Japan is not left out. She wants to ensure that Japanese car companies can still get the same subsidies—which is just a fancy word for government money used to help businesses—that European companies get.

Merz said he didn't expect the pushback to be this strong. He now plans to take these concerns back to Brussels, which is the main city where European Union officials make their laws. He wants to make sure European leaders understand that these rules could cause trouble with their international partners.

Japan’s car industry is a big deal, and they clearly don’t want to be shut out of the European market. For now, the future of these subsidy rules is still being debated, and Asian leaders are watching closely to see what happens next.

Source: POLITICO.eu