America’s relationship with Germany may never be the same again, Berlin warns.
Defense spending, a brewing trade war between the U.S. and Europe and the threat of U.S. tariffs on German car exports are all bones of contention, as well as the mega gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 (a German-Russian project) and, most recently, the Group of Seven (G-7) alliance and the U.S.’ decision to withdraw troops from Germany.
The Germans don’t want to cooperate, not in any of these areas and they’re playing the victim by putting all the blame on Dr. Evil. It’s a pretty easy tactic to see through and its been quite successful up until now. They got themselves into this mess, however. Germans always want an Extrawurst (an extra sausage, something for nothing). Trump sees this and is pointing the finger in the right direction. The Germans know that he sees this and they don’t like having been caught.
“We’re protecting Germany and they’re delinquent. That doesn’t make sense.”
The mood among German exporters recovered somewhat in May after a “catastrophic” April, the first full month of coronavirus lockdown measures in Europe’s largest economy, the Ifo institute said on Tuesday.
“Virtually every sector still expects further declines, yet these will be less sharp than had been expected in the previous month,” the Munich think tank said in a monthly release.
The Ifo export indicator, based on a survey of around 2,300 manufacturing businesses, rose in May to -26.9 from -50.2. It is a net reading for respondents expecting an increase minus those who see a decline.
That means lowest level. You know, like the current 23-year low in German car production?
German car production fell to its lowest in almost a quarter of a century as Europe’s biggest economy suffers from the fallout of a global trade war.
Automakers including Volkswagen AG, BMW AG and Daimler AG produced 4.66 million vehicles in German factories last year, the weakest since 1996. The country’s VDA car lobby, which published the figures on Monday, said the 9% decrease was a result of waning demand from international markets.
The industry is set for more tough times this year. The VDA predicted global car deliveries will drop to 78.9 million vehicles from 80.1 million in 2019.
That means record level. As in record level of German weapons sales.
The federal government has authorized a record level of weapons exports. The number of export permits for armaments reached a new record high. Compared to the previous year, there was an increase of at least 65 percent for 2019.
Bundesregierung genehmigt Rüstungsexporte in Rekordhöhe – Die Zahl der Exportgenehmigungen für Rüstungsgüter hat einen neuen Höchststand erreicht. Im Vergleich zum Vorjahr gab es 2019 eine Steigerung von mindestens 65 Prozent.
Foreign countries. Name about any country you want.
Beautiful German weapon sale of the week.
Because somebody has to admire them.
In the first ten months of this year the German federal government has given its OK to the sale of arms valued at 7.42 billion euros, nearing an all-time record.
Die Welt verlangt nach deutschen Waffen: Die Bundesregierung hat in den ersten zehn Monaten des laufenden Jahres Rüstungsexporte im Wert von 7,42 Milliarden Euro genehmigt. Die Summe erreicht damit schon fast das Ausmaß des bisherigen Rekordjahres 2015, als die Große Koalition Ausfuhren von Waffen und anderen Rüstungsgütern für 7,86 Milliarden Euro freigab.
I’m sure Mr. Erdogan had no idea and will now be recalling his troops ASAP.
Germany’s Maas says Turkey ‘invasion’ illegitimate under international law – German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has described Turkey’s offensive against Syrian Kurds as an “invasion” and said Berlin saw it as illegitimate. The EU may yet impose economic sanctions on Turkey, Maas said.
“We have been very clear that we are keeping other measures open — and they might also include economic sanctions.”
German arms exports to Turkey at highest level since 2005 – Last year, Turkey was the No. 1 importer of German weapons by far, with contracts amounting to €242.8 million. Despite a halt in some deliveries, it is on track to claim that title again in 2019.
Go figure. It’s pronounced “eagle sex” but it means hedgehog sex.
Germans kept up at night by noisy igelsex (that’s hedgehog coupling) – Police called out to reports of nocturnal disturbances find hedgehogs ‘having fun.’
I don’t buy it, though. I think these Germans were kept up at night, tossing and turning, worrying about the German economy.
“Germany’s economy is highly dependent on exports, and that’s what’s hitting the German economy now. If the trade conflicts persist for many more years, this will hit Germany very hard.”
German auto sector could drop as much as 12% if Trump announces tariffs, analyst says.
Gee, I wonder if there is anything the Germans/Europeans could do to prevent that from happening? I dunno. How about like maybe lowering their tariffs? Just thinking out loud here, people.
Germany’s automotive sector could fall as much as 12% over “three bad trading days,” if President Donald Trump imposes tariffs on European car manufacturers, one analyst told CNBC.
Trump has until Friday midnight (Washington time) to decide whether to impose duties on car imports. This would likely hurt Germany, the EU’s traditional growth engine, given that it is one of the largest direct car exporters to the U.S.
“If indeed we get U.S. car tariffs on imports from the euro zone — not just their announcement, you could forget our economic forecasts completely. No chance of a sustained pick-up in activity throughout the second half as we expect.”
A trade war between the United States and Europe is coming and the fallout could tip Germany into recession, according to analysts at German lender Commerzbank…
Official German statistics supplemented by the bank’s own research show that in 2018, the United States was the top export destination for German cars, accounting for about 12% of the total with a value of 27 billion euros of parts or finished vehicles.
The bank estimated that a Trump-ordered tariff increase of 25 percentage points on EU auto imports would slash that figure for Germany down to around 14 billion euros per annum.
When factoring in how much of that export figure is actual German “added value,” the bank estimated that total economic output for the country could fall by around 0.25 percentage points.
“All the more dangerous in a situation where the German economy is only just managing to avoid a recession,” it read.
