New German chancellor Friedrich Merz should quickly set course for a recovery in the country’s economy and industries, says mechanical engineering association VDMA.
The first 100 days of the new government will be fundamental for tackling social and economic challenges, and for industrial growth and competitiveness, says VDMA president Bertram Kawlath.
He asserts that “Germany must once again become a European driving force and, together with its European partners, vigorously push for a deepening of the internal market.”
More concretely, he asks that “improved investment and innovation conditions with accelerated depreciation and a widely usable research allowance” should be facilitated to ensure innovation.
Meanwhile, the mechanical engineering industry completed the first quarter with the first positive year-on-year balance of orders in three years, Kallanish hears. Q1 saw an overall increase in orders of 4%.
Domestic orders from January to March were 1% higher y-o-y, while orders from abroad were up by 5%. The disparity widened in March alone with domestic business down 3%, offset by a 6% increase in foreign orders.
“It is therefore all the more important that the new German government now directly introduces brave reforms to strengthen the country, to attract investment again,” demands VDMA chief economist Johannes Gernandt. “We are now seeing a turning point in international business, while domestic business remains difficult.”
Christian Koehl Germany
