44% of German companies fear that a return of Donald Trump to the White House would negatively affect their business, while 5% see it positively, according to a study published Thursday by the economic institute IFO.
• Also read: New allegations of sexual assault: an effect to be expected on the Trump campaign?
• Also read: Kamala Harris or Donald Trump: which celebrity supports which candidate?
• Also read: If elected, Trump wants to “fire” the special prosecutor who is prosecuting him
On the other hand, 51% do not expect any upheaval in their activities, regardless of the winner of the November 5 election between the Republican and the Democrat Kamala Harris.
The institute surveyed more than 2,000 companies in Europe’s largest economy on the impact of the American presidential elections on the German economy.
“Companies with close economic ties to the United States in particular expect negative consequences if Trump wins the election,” notes Andreas Baur, researcher at the IFO, in the study.
German-American relations deteriorated under the presidency of Donald Trump (2017-2021) who launched several protectionist measures targeting European and Chinese imports in particular.
He also attacked several countries, including Germany, because of their spending deemed insufficient for NATO.
Since the election of Joe Biden, Germany has moved closer to the United States, which this year became its first trading partner ahead of China.
The German head of state Frank-Walter Steinmeier hailed Joe Biden as a “guide for democracy”, and awarded him the National Order of Merit for his contribution to transatlantic relations, during a visit by the American president to Berlin a week ago.
According to the IFO study, 43% of respondents consider their exports to the United States “important”.
But only 4% of the companies surveyed plan to react concretely, for example, to relocate their production outside the United States if Donald Trump wins.
He has already warned that he would increase customs duties by 20% on all products imported from abroad.
According to the IFO, such a measure would lead to a 15% drop in German exports, already struggling, to the United States.
Most respondents expect a close election result on November 5.
