MUNSTER, Germany, April 30 (Reuters) – German Chancellor Friedrich Merz emphasized on Thursday the importance of the transatlantic partnership with the U.S., just hours after President Donald Trump said his administration was looking at reducing the number of U.S. troops in Germany.
Speaking to reporters at a military base, Merz said Germany’s compass remained focused on a strong NATO military alliance and reliable partnership.
“As you know, this transatlantic partnership is particularly close to our hearts – and to mine personally,” he said.
Trump has been sparring with Merz over the war in Iran in recent days. On Tuesday, he said Merz didn’t know what he was talking about after the German leader said the Iranians were humiliating the U.S. in talks to end the two-month-old war.
“The United States is studying and reviewing the possible reduction of troops in Germany, with a determination to be made over the next short period of time,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday.
Merz did not mention Trump’s latest comment or take questions after his statement but reaffirmed Berlin’s openness to participating in a military mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz once conditions were met. The strait has largely been blockaded since the outbreak of the Iran conflict.
Merz said Berlin remained in “trusting contact” with partners and especially Washington on Iran.
The U.S. had just over 68,000 active-duty military personnel assigned permanently at its overseas bases in Europe as of December 2025, data from the U.S. Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) shows.
More than half – about 36,400 – are based in Germany. That is a fraction of the 250,000 U.S. troops that were based there in 1985, before the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War.
(Reporting by Reuters TV, writing by Sabine Siebold and James Mackenzie; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
