"Strengthen European and German competitiveness at last!"

Brandenburg CCIs on the inauguration of the new US President Donald Trump: 
"See challenging times as an opportunity: Finally strengthen European and German competitiveness now!"

Potsdam, Cottbus, Frankfurt (Oder), January 20, 2024 - "With today's entry of US President-elect Donald Trump into the White House in November, our Brandenburg companies must also prepare themselves for additional challenges in the already very tense economic situation." This was said today by Ina Hänsel, Chairwoman of the State Working Group of the Brandenburg Chambers of Industry and Commerce. "As Trump has already announced, higher import tariffs will play a major role and could make trade with the USA much more difficult. Higher tariffs would also lead to an increase in the price of German and therefore also Brandenburg export goods in America and thus cloud our foreign trade business."

IHK President Ina Hänsel: "Sectors such as the automotive and chemical industries are particularly dependent on exports to the USA. Companies should therefore prepare for the coming months as a precaution and review their supply chains and business plans and adapt them to the new situation - if they have not already done so," says Ina Hänsel. But the EU and Germany are also called upon to develop self-confident responses to Trump's import tariff plans and to credibly defend themselves against these economic constraints. "Trump's inauguration should be seen as an opportunity: The best response to the challenging times ahead is to strengthen European and also German competitiveness! Reducing bureaucracy, lower energy prices, support for transformation processes and the digitalization of the economy, but also better safeguarding of stable supply chains are key and unrelenting steps in this direction," continued Potsdam's IHK President.

Background:
The country remains one of Brandenburg's most important trading partners: In 2023, the USA ranked 4th among the most important export countries for Brandenburg. Goods and services worth over 2 billion euros were exported, with export sales growing by more than 30 percent compared to 2022. Both markets have a number of close links. Local companies appreciate the size of the US market, which now has more than 340 million people, and the stable, business-friendly framework conditions, even though the US has not made it easy for European companies to engage in intensive trade in the past.

With the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the US launched a 738 billion dollar investment program in 2022 under Joe Biden's presidency. The EU and its member states fear that the IRA could have a negative impact on Europe as a business location and that higher energy prices in Europe and attractive US subsidies could cause European companies to relocate to the US. However, there is still no clear trend emerging here.

The relationship between the USA and China is also causing great uncertainty. Companies that have strong ties with both China and the USA could face major problems if the trade conflicts intensify and the exorbitant tariffs on Chinese goods that have been announced are implemented. Brandenburg also maintains intensive trade relations with China (10th in exports, 2nd in imports) and Brandenburg companies are therefore also at risk of being caught in the middle. A small consolation: the Brandenburg economy will be less affected by import restrictions or US-Chinese trade conflicts than the German economy. The export ratio in Germany is around 50 percent, in Brandenburg only around 34 to 35 percent. In this respect, upheavals on international markets always have less of an impact on the Brandenburg economy as a whole than on Germany as a whole.