The German economy expects negative consequences from the inauguration of new US President Donald Trump, according to a special economic survey by the Institute of the German Economy (IW) of over 2,000 companies, reported by the Handelsblatt on Tuesday.
Almost a third of the surveyed companies believe that they will face strong competitive disadvantages due to higher energy costs for themselves. 28 percent of all companies expect a weaker global economy due to increased economic uncertainty and protectionism, and the resulting disadvantages, following Trump’s re-entry into the White House.
The industry is particularly concerned, with nearly 40 percent of the surveyed industrial companies expecting competitive disadvantages due to distorted energy costs. 22 percent expect to face disadvantages due to laxer environmental standards in the US, which will apply on the other side of the Atlantic in the future. The share of companies with the same concerns is significantly lower in service sectors, the construction industry, and in small companies with fewer than 500 employees.
Only 10 percent of all companies in the survey expect a “strong” restriction in sales due to US import tariffs. 22 percent expect “moderate” consequences, and 68 percent of the companies expect no consequences. Even in the industrial companies, only 17 percent believe that the subsidization of US companies by the re Trump administration and the announced protectionist tariff policy of the US will significantly affect their own trade and sales opportunities. “Problems in their own supply chains or in production and company cooperation are not to be expected on a macroeconomic level” said IW researcher Michael Grömling.