Economic world war: Trump wanted to strengthen the US – and then Germany entered the picture

Trump's tariff policy is increasing uncertainty: German investments in the US have fallen to a three-year low, but companies already operating in the country continue to reinvest their profits. This emerges from data by the IW Institute.

The tariff policy of US President Donald Trump is increasing economic uncertainty, and German investments in the US have fallen to a three-year low. This emerges from data published by the German research institute IW. Since returning to office, Trump has used the threat of tariffs as a pressure tool on US trading partners to gain concessions. Against this backdrop, the European Union last year agreed to a deal that included a commitment to investments worth $600 billion, in an attempt to avoid heavy tariffs on European exports to the US. However, IW stresses that data from subsequent years are affected by the exceptional circumstances created during the COVID period, including unusual capital movements and net outflows of investments in some years. According to the institute, the US market is still considered attractive for German companies already operating there, and they continue to reinvest their profits. At the same time, there is hesitation regarding commitments to new capital, and companies are reluctant to make new significant investments under current uncertainty.