US punitive tariffs barely affect Germany

Author: Osman Cetinkaya
Date: 23.07.2018

China in the focus of the trade conflict

US President Trump introduced punitive tariffs for European steel and aluminum imports a month ago. Some people feared the collapse of European trading companies. However, the quarterly published transport barometer Timocom shows a different result. Accordingly, European trading companies are still busy.

According to company spokesman of Timocom Gunnar Gburek, the European market is not affected by the punitive tariffs. On the basis of the figures for the second quarter of 2018, it can be seen that there is a high supply situation, especially for economically strong German as well as European companies.

As in the previous year, supply is higher than demand, with a ratio of 70:30, according to Gburek. However, this lacks sufficient capacity for cargo space. As a result, empty trips should be prevented in order to be prepared for the future demand overhang in Europe.

China most affected by trade conflict

One of the reasons for the stability of the German transport market is that Germany delivers the majority of its steel production within Europe. One third of deliveries are transported to France, Italy and Poland. Only five percent of the goods go to the USA.

China is mainly affected by the trade conflict, but this has an international economic and political impact. The effect is already evident: the failed stock market debut of the Chinese tech group Xiaomi is attributed to the trade conflict of the two nations.

Due to the withdrawal of China other nations that are economically building on the purchasing power of the Chinese People’s Republic are disadvantaged. According to the Handelsblatt, there is a stagnating sale of products at Porsche. Despite the limited impact of US punitive tariffs on Europe, the trade conflict is evident in certain markets and countries.