Fight against a sluggish economy
DIHK President calls for a turnaround in economic policy
February 19, 2024, 3:32 a.m
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The economy in Germany is slowing down and there are no major economic policy countermeasures. That’s why the President of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry is insisting on impetus from politicians. He sees the Growth Opportunities Act as the first encouraging signal.
The German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) has called for a “turning point in economic policy” in view of the sluggish economy. “The weeks up to Easter are of great importance for the further development of the German economy. Because everything that is now decided in terms of burdens or, in return, relief in Berlin and Brussels has a direct impact on the companies’ investment plans,” said DIHK President Peter Adrian of the “Rheinische Post”.
“In view of the economic recession, all political leaders at the federal and state levels must now seize the opportunity to concretely usher in a turning point in economic policy,” emphasized Adrian. More than 20 years after the Agenda 2010 adopted by the then red-green federal government, new reform steps are necessary. “Now we need a growth signal for the period up to 2030,” said the DIHK President.
In his view, a first encouraging signal could be the Growth Opportunities Act. This provides relief for companies of seven billion euros per year. A mediation process regarding the project is currently underway in the Federal Council. Furthermore, blockages in planning and approval processes and bureaucracy must be reduced, said Adrian.
Also criticism from the Institute of German Economics
Companies also expressed criticism of the current economic policy in a study by the employer-related Institute of the German Economy (IW). “The basic orientation of economic policy across all sectors represents a risk for almost two out of three companies in their investment decisions in Germany,” says the study, according to the “Rheinische Post”.
“This argument therefore ranks high on the list of barriers to investment,” the institute writes, according to the report. As concrete examples of dissatisfaction with economic policy, companies cite the high burden of bureaucracy and many regulations, the high level of corporate taxes and backlogs in the expansion of digital and transport infrastructure.
According to the study, more than 90 percent of companies cited higher labor costs due to increased wage and ancillary wage costs as the main reason for their reluctance to invest, as the “Rheinische Post” further reported. Secondly, the shortage of skilled workers and the general unavailability of workers are mentioned.