(Reuters) – The German economy contracted by 0.1% in the second quarter compared to the previous quarter, according to official data published on Wednesday, due to the slowdown in demand from the United States after several months of purchases supported in the anticipation of American customs duties.
This contraction is in accordance with forecasts and marks a trend reversal compared to growth of 0.4% recorded in the first quarter, when American importers had bought more products than usual and earlier than expected, in anticipation of an increase in customs duties.
Investments in Germany fell in the second quarter, while consumption and public spending increased compared to the previous period, according to the Statistics Office.
The United States and the European Union (EU) concluded on Sunday a commercial agreement establishing customs duties of 15% on most of the products of the 27 member states of the block.
This agreement made it possible to avoid a larger trade war between the two allies, which represent together nearly a third of world trade.
The United States was Germany’s first trading partner in 2024, with bilateral trade in goods amounting to 253 billion euros (278 billion dollars).
“Germany will probably be harder than the other major economies by customs duties and will continue to suffer this year before budget recovery measures began to stimulate the economy in 2026,” said Franziska Palmas, economist at Capital Economics.
(Written by Mara Vîlcu, edited by Augustin Turpin and Blandine Hénault)
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