Germany, being one of the most influential countries of the European Union, until recently was also one of the most economically successful. Its performance has always been an example to follow, but not this time, written in “Die Welt” article, devoted to the next report of the representative of the European Commission for Economics and Finance, Pierre Moscovici.
According to forecasts, Germany’s economic growth this year will be below 1 percent of GDP, at a time when even Poland’s figure is 4.2%. Thus, the FRG was on the same level with Italy, although in the autumn of last year the forecast showed 1.7 percent.
The European Commission is confident that the reason for this unpleasant recession for Berlin was the attempt by US President Donald Trump to exert economic pressure on Germany.
In particular, Moscovici drew attention to the fact that the White House’s protectionist policy influences the automobile industry, which is what Germany and Italy are famous for. Already in May, Trump plans to introduce customs duties on cars from Europe. In this case, to a lesser extent, according to the European Commissioner, Brexit and the escalation of the international political crisis affected the economic indicators. In addition, some of the actions of Brussels, in particular, the tightening of environmental standards, are a negative factor for the automotive industry.