March 21, 2026
Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz is scheduled to speak by phone with US President Donald Trump over the weekend as pressure mounts on NATO allies to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.
The narrow waterway, a key chokepoint for global oil shipments, has been effectively closed to most shipping since the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran. The closure has sent oil prices sharply higher and prompted Trump to criticize European NATO partners for refusing to assist, calling them “cowards” for not helping to reopen the passage.
At a campaign event for his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Rhineland-Palatinate on Friday — where state elections take place Sunday — Merz confirmed the planned call. He reiterated an earlier invitation for Trump to visit Germany, including Rhineland-Palatinate, noting the US president’s ancestral links to the region.
So far, Germany has joined several NATO allies in declining to take part in patrols in the Strait, arguing the conflict was initiated by the US and Israel and that it is “not NATO’s war.” However, diplomatic language softened this week: Germany and France signaled a “readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait” once active fighting has ceased.
The disruption of traffic through Hormuz has wider economic consequences. With roughly a fifth of the world’s oil trade and a significant portion of the global fertilizer supply normally transiting the strait, the closure has pushed up energy and agricultural input costs. German officials have warned of knock-on effects for food prices and inflation.
Merz previously held bilateral talks with Trump at the White House earlier in March. This weekend’s call comes amid strained transatlantic ties over the crisis and as Berlin navigates domestic political pressures during an election-heavy year.