Sir Keir Starmer’s statement that “it will get worse before it gets better” applies to Germany as well, with the unfortunate difference being that it has already been worse for her for a long time. Despite news outlets in Germany often painting a different picture in relation to Britain, her overall economic performance over the last 7 to 8 years has been below the UK’s. Therefore, it is high time that new initiatives to revive the country’s economy are started.
For the UK, we hope that the new government is correct in its belief that it will eventually get better. What is really important for business is predictability in politics; therefore, the many new policy initiatives that were recently announced need to be delivered in a consistent manner, as only then will companies have the confidence to invest for the long term. If we look at British-German economic relations, we see that they continue to be resurgent, with Germany being the UK’s second most important trading partner and investment ties between our two nations also being very significant. For example, the envisaged closer cooperation in the field of energy, whether that involves electricity interconnectors or hydrogen, is living proof of that. Prime Minister Starmer’s visit to Germany this week and the announcement of a comprehensive bilateral treaty further testify to the potential future growth of this relationship.
However, with the world in general – and especially the Western world – becoming more protectionist to achieve higher levels of often illusory economic autonomy, we all run the risk of foregoing economic growth. What is interesting to note in this context is that South-South trade tends to be the engine of global trade these days. This means that we in the West are slowly being left out of emerging economic linkages and that does not bode well for our long-term prosperity. With Britain and Germany traditionally believers in free trade, we should join forces to counteract the global protectionist tendencies. We at the Chamber always believed in closer ties and will continue to make the voice of business heard because trade matters to all of us.
Dr Ulrich Hoppe
Director General
German-British Chamber of Industry & Commerce
