{"id":8041,"date":"2026-02-10T02:41:26","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T02:41:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/?p=8041"},"modified":"2026-02-10T02:41:26","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T02:41:26","slug":"germany-reflects-on-competitiveness-after-six-years-of-losses-of-nearly-a-trillion-euros-resolving-structural-flaws-opposing-building-trade-barriers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/?p=8041","title":{"rendered":"Germany reflects on competitiveness after six years of losses of nearly a trillion euros: resolving structural flaws, opposing \u201cbuilding trade barriers\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nThe continued crises are costing the German economy a heavy price, urging this largest European economy to find a way to break the situation as soon as possible. The German News Agency reported on Saturday, citing estimates from the German Economic Institute (IW), that since 2020, economic losses caused to Germany by crises such as the pandemic, the Russian-Ukinian conflict, and tariff disputes have accumulated nearly 1 trillion euros. Although the German economy grew weakly by about 0.2% in 2025, ending the previous two consecutive years of recession, problems such as uncertain exports prospects, labor market stagnation, and unimproved investment environment cast a shadow over the economic recovery. In the context of the increasingly complex international economic and trade landscape, German Minister of Economy and Energy Reiches objected Saturday to the EU\u2018s plan to guide public procurement toward European companies, warning that competitiveness cannot be established through isolation measures.<\/p>\n

1\/4 Due to Tariff Policies<\/p>\n

Estimated data from IW show that over the six years since 2020, Germany\u2018s price-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) has lost as much as \u20ac940 billion due to various crises. In the first year of the COVID-19 outbreak alone, 2020, Germany\u2018s value loss of output reached about \u20ac185 billion.<\/p>\n

Starting in 2022, the energy price shock brought about by the Russo-Ukrainian conflict and the continued high geopolitical uncertainty severely hampered German economic growth, with economic losses of about 85 billion euros in 2022. Over the following two years, German economic output decreased by about 140 billion euros and 200 billion euros, respectively.<\/p>\n

It is worth noting that nearly a quarter of the trillion losses were attributed to the past year. While the German economy had yet to recover from the previous two crises, U.S. President Trump quickly implemented tariff policies after taking office. In 2025, Germany\u2018s output loss reached \u20ac235 billion, the highest figure in the entire crisis cycle.<\/p>\n

The above figures mean that the pandemic, the energy crisis triggered by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, and U.S. trade policies have resulted in Germany losing more than 20,000 euros per employed person in these years. This is equivalent to about one-fifth of the annual economic output per employed person. IW researcher Michael Gromlin said: \u201cThis decade so far has been characterized by extraordinary shocks and huge economic adjustment burdens, with stress levels now significantly exceeding previous crises.\u201d IW analysis argues that in order to regain economic leadership, Germany must address structural shortcomings: high energy prices, rising social insurance costs, and increasingly bloated bureaucracies.<\/p>\n

Economic Stagnation May Persist<\/p>\n

Germany\u2018s economy experienced a weak but not reassuring growth in 2025. After two consecutive years of recession, Germany\u2018s price-adjusted GDP grew by about 0.2 percent, according to data released by the Statistisches Bundesamt. The German newspaper Bild said the growth was \u201calmost imperceptible.\u201d The growth was mainly attributed to increased household and government consumption spending.<\/p>\n

Exports have improved. According to the German weekly Times, German companies\u2018 exports grew 1% in 2025 compared to the previous year, while imports grew 4.4% year-on-year. China once again replaced the United States as Germany\u2019s most important trading partner. However, according to statistics by Deutschlandradio, German exports of cars and car parts, machinery and chemical products declined in 2025 due to U.S. tariff policies, the appreciation of the euro and intensified international competition.<\/p>\n

The German Association for Wholesale and Foreign Trade said on the 6th that Germany\u2018s exports continue to have structural weaknesses, with US protectionist tariffs, ongoing geopolitical tensions, and weak global demand being the main challenges.<\/p>\n

Bloomberg reported that the German government expects GDP to grow by 1% this year, mainly thanks to the surge in infrastructure and defense spending, but Photograph said it was partly because two holidays coincided with weekends, increasing the number of working days. Other economic research institutes have warned that the continued economic stagnation could continue. Foster, director of the Iver Economic Institute in Germany, said Germany has been in a recession for years, \u201cmillions of citizens are experiencing a decline in living standards.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCompetitiveness cannot be established through isolation\u201d<\/p>\n

Many European countries, including Germany, believe that lack of competitiveness is the main problem causing economic stagnation. Some countries are trying to push for new regulations, represented by the \u201cIndustrial Accelerator Act\u201d, to guide public procurement and investment to prioritize European companies and domestic production. Last Monday, St\u00e9phane S\u00e9gourn\u00e9, executive vice chairman of the European Commission responsible for industrial strategy, published an article in several European media saying that Europe needs to protect its own industries with a \u201cMade in Europe\u201d strategy, an article jointly signed by more than 1,100 business leaders.<\/p>\n

However, the German Business Daily reported on July that Reich, the German Minister of Economy and Energy, rejected the plan and said bluntly, \u201cWe cannot regress to the era of building trade barriers.\u201d Reich warned that competitiveness cannot be established through isolation. She mentioned that from Berlin\u2018s perspective, Brussels is going to extremes, and Europe should focus on streamlining bureaucracy and promoting investment, rather than introducing procurement incentives that might limit competition. Germany prefers the \u201cMade with Europe\u201d model, combining domestic advantages with cooperation with reliable global partners.<\/p>\n

The German Federal Chancellery has also prepared a document, The Commercial said, showing that the \u201cEuropean Cooperative Manufacturing\u201d strategy covers not only the European Union, but also countries that have signed trade agreements with the EU. The German Frankfurter Zeitung reported that the Federal Chancellery had objected to the plans of S\u00e9roune. There was general consensus that \u201csimilar partners\u201d should be included. The document also said that Germany fundamentally opposed S\u00e9roune\u2018s proposed regulations that limit foreign investors\u2019 shareholding in European companies.<\/p>\n

France has long advocated prioritizing European companies in public procurement, but smaller member countries, especially northern European countries, are generally skeptical of this, the European Dynamic Network reported on July. Some member countries warned that the \u201cEurope first\u201d rule could further complicate EU legislation. EU leaders will express their respective positions at an informal summit this Thursday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The continued crises are costing the German economy a heavy price, urging this largest European economy to find a way to break the situation as soon as possible. The German… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8042,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[263,260],"tags":[1202,4311,363,4312,1964],"views":84,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8041"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8041"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8041\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8043,"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8041\/revisions\/8043"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}