News Agency Berlin, October 23 Title: Looking at the impact of US tariffs from the replacement of Germany's largest trading partner

Newspaper reporter Liº¯ÁÖ

The latest data from the Federal Bureau of Statistics showed that eight months before 2025, the United States was no longer Germany's largest trading partner, China replaced it. Analysts pointed out that this change was closely linked to U.S. tariffs, raised trade barriers, and reflect protectionist measures are weakening U.S. and European economic ties.

Data from the German Federal Statistical Office shows that from January to August this year, Germany's exports to the United States were 101 billion euros, a year-on-year decrease of 6.5%. Among them, exports in August were only 10.9 billion euros, down 2.5% month-on-month and 20.1% year-on-year, setting a new low since November 2021. At the same time, Germany imported 63.4 billion euros from the United States, with a total bilateral import and export volume of 164.4 billion euros. In contrast, German-China economic and trade exchanges have shown resilience. In the first eight months of this year, bilateral trade totaled 166.3 billion euros.

The European Union and the United States reached an agreement at the end of July to impose 15 percent tariffs on most of the EU¡¯s US imports as of August 1.Dilk Jandura, president of the German Wholesale and Foreign Trade Association, said U.S. tariff policies were a key reason for the decline in German exports to the United States, and the U.S. market significantly reduced demand for traditional exports such as German automobiles, machinery and chemicals.

Meanwhile, the German Congress of Commerce survey showed that U.S. tariff policy is increasing uncertainty in enterprises, more than half of the surveyed enterprises plan to reduce trade with the U.S. and about a quarter of enterprises said they would suspend or cancel investment in the U.S. German managerial scientist Herman Simon pointed out that U.S. tariff policy puts German enterprises to U.S. exports facing a huge challenge, if they lose their share in the U.S. market, enterprises must explore other markets.

The U.S. has always been a major export market for Germany, with the automotive and parts industry being the main source of German trade surpluses with the U.S. However, German exports have continued to be under pressure since U.S. tariffs on imported automobiles and related goods came into force in April.

A report from consulting firm Ernst & Young shows that in the past year to the end of June this year, the German automotive industry lost about 51,500 jobs, accounting for nearly 7% of all jobs, making it the hardest hit industrial sector. German media reported that high U.S. tariffs have raised the price of German goods in the United States, forcing complete vehicle manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen, as well as parts suppliers such as Bosch, Continental, and ZF to announce spending cuts. plan.

At the same time, corporate layoffs and bankruptcies continue to increase, exacerbating market concerns. DHL announced that it will lay off about 8000 people before the end of the year, Siemens announced plans to lay off about 6000 people by September 2027; by 2030, Germany's largest steel manufacturer ThyssenKrupp Steel plans to lay off about 11,000 people, and Bosch plans to lay off about 13,000 people.

The German Chamber of Commerce noted that the number of bankruptcies of German companies reached the highest level in 12 years in July, and it is expected that more than 22,000 companies will apply for bankruptcy this year, an average of more than 60 per day.

German Central Bank Governor Joachim Nagel pointed out that U.S. tariffs and policy uncertainty are suppressing German economic growth, especially for industrial sectors in critical adjustment periods.The Munich Institute of Economic Studies predicts that factors such as U.S. tariff policy will continue to affect the German economy to grow by only 0.2% in 2025.