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Many German companies have important locations in the USA, VW for example in the US state of Tennessee
Photo:
Friso Gentsch / dpa
From the industry's point of view, strict entry regulations into the USA lead to ongoing burdens for German companies. "Numerous local German companies are urgently waiting for their employees to be allowed to travel to the USA for maintenance, repairs and other on-site product-related services," said Wolfgang Niedermark, member of the executive board of the Federation of German Industries. Relaxing the strict rules is also in the United States' own interests. "Production in the USA, to which many American jobs depend," says Niedermark, is suffering from the entry restrictions.
The European Union had decided that travelers from the United States would be able to re-enter the EU more easily.
Conversely, there are still strict requirements for trips from the European Schengen area to the USA.
This should also be an issue when the outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) meets with US President Joe Biden in Washington in mid-July.
USA most important sales market of late
“It is incomprehensible unequal treatment when Americans are allowed to travel to the EU again, but entry into the USA is still only possible under very strict conditions for selected niche industries,” says Niedermark.
The exemptions granted so far in the United States are not sufficient.
»The US government should quickly relax the entry requirements for business travelers from Germany and the Schengen area.
Lifting the entry ban would be an important expression of trust. "
With around 860,000 jobs, German companies are the third largest foreign employer in the USA.
In addition, the United States was the most important sales market for German exports in 2020, with German companies selling goods worth more than 100 billion euros to the USA.
beb / dpa
