Germany's exports to the US hit a low not seen since 2021

The German statistical office reported on Monday that exports to the US fell again in July, hitting a low since 2021, due to the tariff policies of the Trump administration.

According to data published by the German Federal Statistical Office, the indicator fell by 0.6% month-on-month, below the common expectation of FactSet, a research system company in the US, which had predicted the indicator would remain unchanged.

The German Statistical Office pointed out that exports to the US fell by 7.9% month-on-month, marking the fourth consecutive month of decline. The US remains Germany's largest trading partner. Compared to the same period last year, exports to the US dropped by 14.1%.

At the beginning of August, Washington imposed additional tariffs of 15% on European imports, which damaged the competitiveness of German products. Other industries showed mixed performance, with exports to China falling by 7.3%, while exports to the EU rose by 2.5% supported by the eurozone.

Meanwhile, the German Statistical Office said in another press release that industrial production in Germany increased by 1.3% in July.

This growth offset the drop from the previous month, and the statistical office revised the decline from -1.9% to -0.1%, confirming that manufacturing remains affected by geopolitical uncertainties and is still volatile.

The increase in production in July was mainly driven by a strong 9.5% growth in the machine tool industry, as well as growth of 2.3% in the automotive industry and 8.4% in the pharmaceutical industry, while the energy sector declined by 4.5%.

The German Ministry of Economics stated in a press release: "Despite the continued cautious environment, the upward trend in business expectations suggests that industrial production may rebound this year."

Jens-Oliver Niklasch, an economist at the Bank of Baden-Württemberg, estimates that although the start of the third quarter has been better than expected, "the German economy may still continue to stagnate" and will continue to "find the right way to recover" against the backdrop of U.S. restrictive tariff policies.

Sources: rfi

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1842706774153227/

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