Overview

• President Donald Trump has proposed raising tariffs on imports from Europe to 10-20%, with even higher rates of up to 60% on goods from China.
• Economists caution that these measures could lead to significant trade conflicts, potentially costing Germany up to 1% of its GDP and threatening hundreds of thousands of jobs.
• Simone Menne, President of AmCham Germany, advises against panic, noting that many of Trump's past trade threats were not fully implemented.
• Menne and other experts argue that high tariffs could harm the U.S. economy by increasing consumer prices, fueling inflation, and making American exports less competitive.
• While some German companies might gain short-term advantages if competitors face higher tariffs, large-scale relocations of German businesses to the U.S. are considered unlikely due to high costs and long planning timelines.