Germany on losing end as global trade balance tilts to China

BERLIN: Germany's market share in important sales markets and key industries such as automotive and mechanical engineering has shrunk over the last decade, a new industry study showed on Thursday.

According to the study by the Association of Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (vfa), China's rise and US trade policy have redrawn the balance of global trade.

China is becoming increasingly important in world markets, including in core areas of Germany's export-oriented industry such as the automotive sector, the study, which is based on UN trade data, noted.

The tariff dispute with the United States under President Donald Trump is now hitting Germany at a critical time, it added.

However, the vfa found that Germany's own failures, particularly in the automotive sector, are also to blame.

It says Germany picked up too late on key future trends such as the shift to alternative engine systems.

Added to this are high costs, dependence on international suppliers and a lack of flexibility in digital business models, such as connected vehicles and software solutions, it said.

The study noted that other EU countries have been able to hold their own and gain market share in the US, highlighting the Irish and Swiss pharmaceutical industries in particular.

"China is winning in Europe, Europe is winning in the US - Germany is losing out," vfa chief economist Claus Michelsen said.