Would a Trump presidency hurt German firms?

DW (English)

Former President Donald Trump is known for slapping massive import tariffs on foreign products that he thinks threaten US businesses. Some worry that German goods would be among the first to suffer if he was elected president again.

Transcript

00:00This kind of precision work is just one of the strengths of the German Mittelstand.

00:07Mid-sized companies like this manufacturer in Görmansheim on the Rhine River.

00:12The heating system maker's 200 employees generate an annual revenue of 20 million euros.

00:21We currently export around 20% of our systems to the US.

00:26We expect that share to rise in future because the market there is enormous and is growing.

00:32But that could change if Donald Trump wins this year's presidential elections.

00:38Washington could raise tariffs by at least 10%. That's what Trump has said.

00:43Right now they are between 2 and 4 percent, depending on the product.

00:49Our modules cost between 200 and 300 thousand euro.

00:5510% on top would simply make it too expensive.

00:58We would practically be left sitting on the products made for the American market.

01:03Similarly, higher tariffs would hit many German companies hard.

01:08The German Economic Institute estimates that Trump's policies could cost Germany's economy up to 150 million euros within four years.

01:17But it doesn't have to come to that, says the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany.

01:24Tariffs are tricky because they are usually followed by a countermeasure.

01:31And then we could end up in a spiral, which of course would weaken trade relations.

01:38A trade war wouldn't serve US or EU interests.

01:42That's why German metalworkers are taking a wait-and-see approach.

01:45Just like the Cologne-based family-owned business Alfred H. Schütte.

01:49The machines tools manufacturer has been through good and bad times in its history of 150 plus years.

01:55Should trade barriers take effect, be it under Biden, Trump or whomever, there is not much we can prepare for.

02:05We can only look at the situation and try to respond as flexibly as possible.

02:11German companies need clarity on tariffs.

02:15Any uncertainty now will likely delay major German investments until after the US presidential elections.

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