Do you Still Like The Comedy Presented by Ukraine's Zelenski? German companies don't like since they are falling behind the competition

 

 The price of this comedy are sanctions on cheap Russian energy and inability of compete for German companies without that cheap energy.

 

"Only a few sectors are reporting a better situation in the first quarter compared to the end of 2023. Associations are calling for reforms because of the companies' predicament.

 

According to the Ifo Institute, the competitive position of German industry in the EU and on the world markets has been deteriorating for two years. 

 

The Munich-based researchers announced this on Tuesday in response to evaluations from their monthly survey. Within the EU, companies have reported that they are falling behind in terms of competitive position since the third quarter of 2022. The same applies to the world markets without the EU, where this development had already begun in the first quarter of 2022. "It is becoming more difficult for German industry to hold its own in the competition," said Klaus Wohlrabe, head of the Ifo surveys.

 

Almost all sectors in industry reported that their competitive position had worsened in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the end of 2023. The only exceptions to this are the pharmaceutical industry and manufacturers of wood products (excluding furniture).

 

Looking at the markets outside the EU, all sectors except the beverage industry reported a worse competitive position than in the last quarter of 2023. According to Ifo, more and more German companies are also seeing themselves under pressure domestically. Until the end of 2022, there was almost always a tendency for the majority of companies to hold their own well on the domestic market. "This changed a year ago," it said.

 

Business lobby associations have also recently increasingly complained about excessive costs and burdens on Germany as a business location. 

 

They are calling for, for example, a reform of corporate taxes, faster administrative procedures and the reduction of bureaucracy.

 

Reuters" [1]

1. Deutsche Unternehmen fallen hinter Konkurrenz zurück. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (online) Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung GmbH. May 21, 2024.