President Trump has defended his decision to introduce tariffs on the assets of other countries by arguing that he will lead companies to change production to the United States, recovering jobs.
For German companies, which have been producing their assets in the United States since the end of 1800, such arguments sound hollow. Thousands of German companies already have factories in the United States, which represents 12 percent of foreign investments in the country.
Automobile manufacturers such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz have had plants in the United States. In 2023, Sweet Manufacturer Haribo opened his first American plant in Wisconsin, after decades of importing his rubber bears.
Many German companies are now questioning that strategy. Recent surveys indicate that German factors are withdrawing from investing in the United States, and those who already have a mark there are more gloomy about their future.
The German Chamber of Commerce and industry regularly probes the 6,000 German companies with factories in the United States to evaluate their economy perspective. For years, these companies had an “superior to the average opinion,” said Volker Treier, head of foreign trade in the Chamber. But since Trump announced the initial round of tariffs on April 2, the feeling has decreased.
“They have fallen against the trend,” Treier said. “Because tariffs are poison.”
Instead, it seems that many German companies maintain their investments at home. Only 19 percent of the companies in Germany said they seek to invest in North America, below 25 percent, in accordance with a separate survey of 216 German financial executives by the consulting firm Deloitte.
German companies also seem more willing to invest at home, since a new government under Friedrich Merz was sworn last Tuesday with a mandate to reduce bureaucracy and reduce energy prices. Many also expect to collect the 500 billion euros (around $ 564 billion) that the Government plans to borrow to invest in infrastructure in the next 12 years.
That emotion could change the week before the suspension of 90 -day tariffs in July, or if the European Union and Washington can reach a commercial agreement.
In his first call from Mr. Merz Tok’s office, Foreign Minister and Trump “agreed to resolve commercial disputes,” said Mr. Merz’s office.
Among the German industries most affected by tariffs were the automotive sector, which has a significant presence in the United States since the mid-1990s, when BMW and Mercedes-Benz establish plants in the south. Approximately a decade later, Volkswagen followed him.
The leaders of the three companies have had conversations in Washington, hoping to relieve rates. Both Mercedes and Volkswagen, owners of Audi, have said they were considering transferring the production of some models to the United States, that the White House celebrated this month as proof that the president’s strategy was working.
Beyond leading car manufacturers, the dishes of smaller germlle companions produce products in the United States, contributing to the general direct investment of Germany there, with a value of $ 657.8 billion in 2023. That was more than three puch as from Germany in the marches of Germany. year.
This discrepancy will surely appear in the tariff negotiations that involve Mr. Merz and Trump, who have concentrated on the commercial deficit, in which Germany sells customs to the United States of what you buy.
“We have invested more, our companies have created more jobs in the United States than in US companies in Germany,” Treier said. “That for me is the most important starting point for when we talk about justice.”
For German companies, the reason to establish production in the United States has been promoted by factors such as the ease of market access and a desire to produce locally.
Haribo’s movement to Wisconsin was part of a change to a locally centered strategy, said Christian Bahlmann, the company’s senior vice president. “We are looking for this long -term plan, regardless of current customs policy,” he said.
Stihl, a chain saw manufacturer and other electric tools, is based in the German city of the southwest of Waibling. But for decades, he has executed a factory in Virginia.
“We did that in 1974 not because of administrative pressure, but because we believe in local production,” said Stihl president Michael Traub, recently to journalists, emphasizing that the measure had been, not politicians.
This focused focus is now helping Stihl to avoid some of the effects of Trump import taxes. But the company is still based on batteries and other components that are sent to the United States from its factories in Europe and Brazil, which means that the prices of some articles will inevitably rise, said Traub.
“We will do everything to avoid increasing prices,” he said. “We believe that tariffs are taxes, and at the end of the day, our consumers will have to pay them.”
