Pressure, threats, chaos: after the Trump era, the German economy is hoping for a fresh start.
But even under Joe Biden, many points of contention in the German-American relationship are likely to cause explosions.
The
USA is
the world's most important market
for the German economy
.
Under
Donald Trump
, the relationship with the Americans fell to ever new lows.
Now
Joe Biden
rules
the
White House
.
But many points of contention are likely to remain.
New York / Washington - First the good news: Under the new US President
Joe Biden
, America's relationship with Europe can only get better.
This also applies to the
economy
.
In particular, the
trade disputes instigated
by his predecessor
Donald Trump
and his “America first” policy caused great resentment.
After four years of rumbling, threats and chaos, the hope of a new beginning is correspondingly high.
But is Biden really the longed-for savior?
"A 180-degree turnaround is not to be expected even with the new president," warns expert
Hubertus Bardt
from the Institute of German Economy (
IW
) in
Cologne
.
Biden will adhere to international rules, threaten less and be more reliable than Trump.
But there might not be much change in protectionist trade policy.
In fact, it is noticeable that Biden described Trump's “trade wars” as disastrous in the election campaign, but made no promise to withdraw the special tariffs imposed by his predecessor.
With his slogan “
America first
”,
Trump had placed
great emphasis on giving preference to products made in the USA and supporting domestic industries.
Biden uses similar rhetoric.
"Our future will be Made in America, it will be a future made by American workers," Biden said recently.
He also frequently promises that his policies will create "millions of well-paid and unionized jobs" in the US.
Unlike Trump, Biden wants to attach great importance to the expansion of renewable energies and environmentally friendly technologies in addition to a comprehensive infrastructure program.
Joe Biden: Concern about punitive tariffs on steel and aluminum
For the German industry, Trump's
punitive tariffs
on steel and aluminum from June 2018 were a violent affront.
In particular, the fact that Trump justified the move with concerns about national security caused huge outrage.
The USA is the largest single market for the export of goods “Made in Germany”, so import barriers are of great importance for the German economy, which is dependent on foreign trade.
The relationship was also shaken by Trump's threat to
impose
punitive tariffs on
car imports
- at least this topic should now be finally off the table.
At the top of Biden's government's trade policy list, however, is not the EU, but
China
.
With no other country or economic bloc, the US fell out so much under Trump.
Here Biden has to decide quickly how to
proceed
with companies like
Huawei
or the
Tiktok
app that Trump has blacklisted or threatened with bans.
According to analysts, there are a number of common denominators
between the
EU
and the USA when it comes to China, so that without Trump going it alone, we could possibly pull together more in the future.
So far, Biden has only announced that it will critically review existing tariffs.
The hope that it will quickly lower the trade barriers could well be disappointed, the Federation of German Industries (
BDI
) warns.
The controversial tariffs would not only be supported by the trade unions, but also by many Democrats in Congress.
The
outcome is also completely open
in the dispute over subsidies for the aircraft manufacturers
Airbus
and
Boeing
.
Over the years, the
World Trade Organization (
WTO)
identified prohibited state aid on both sides and approved retaliatory tariffs on goods worth billions of dollars.
Even if negotiations to settle the ongoing dispute have been going on behind the scenes for a long time, the signs were not ultimately towards relaxation.
Only at the beginning of January did the USA escalate the situation further with new punitive tariffs on products from Germany and France.
Joe Biden: Regulating tech corporations could be a touchstone
The subject of
tech regulation
could also cause heated arguments.
France's planned digital tax for online giants like Google parent
Alphabet
or
is just as much a stumbling block as the EU Commission's intention to put the tech giants in their place with comprehensive new rules for digital services and online platforms .
In the worst case, this could even threaten the US corporations with being broken up.
Among the areas in which the fastest U-turns are likely to be made under Biden are experts in
environmental and climate policy
.
Here, too, the effects on the economy and companies would be great.
One of the first measures that could be taken under Biden, for example, is the withdrawal of a relaxation of emissions regulations decided by Trump's government.
That would
affect
German carmakers like
Volkswagen
*,
Daimler
or
BMW
* a lot.
Biden also wants to aggressively counter environmental pollution from oil and gas producers - alternative energies would benefit, which
Siemens
, for example,
expects to
do
well.
The prospect of a major infrastructure investment program under Biden also created a
good mood
among the outgoing Siemens boss
Joe Kaeser
.
"This is a great opportunity for us in the United States," he said in November.
In the coming month, Biden wants to present his specific plans for this.
It is about investing “courageously” and “wisely”, warns the democrat.
It depends on whether America will take on a leadership role again or will be overtaken by others.
As a first step, after taking office, Biden initially wants to
launch
a new $ 1.9 trillion
economic stimulus package
to deal with the
Corona
crisis.
He presented the plans for this on Thursday evening (local time) in
Wilmington
.
The package includes $ 1,400 checks for many citizens, an increase in unemployment benefits, and large sums of money for vaccinations and corona tests.
"The health of our nation is at stake," said Biden.
"We cannot afford to do nothing."
He
depends
on
Congress
to
get his plans through
.
His Democrats will control both chambers of parliament in the future - so it should be easy for Biden.
The top of the Democrats in the House and Senate have already
pledged
their support for the
aid package
.
(dpa / utz
)
* Merkur.de is part of the Ippen digital network.