Germany’s SMES US trade policies
dpa
(TNS)
Berlin — Policies under US President Donald Trump are having a negative impact on more than half of German small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) with business ties to the United States, according to a survey by the German state-owned development bank KfW.
The survey, which was conducted for the Sunday edition of the Welt newspaper and published on Saturday, found that 25% of the companies questioned reported “very negative” consequences and a further 27% “somewhat negative” consequences of US policy in recent months.
By contrast, 36% said they had seen no change, while 7% reported benefiting from political decisions since the start of Trump’s second presidential term in January 2025.
The share of SMEs maintaining business ties with the US fell within a year from 16.4% in January 2025 to 11.3% in January 2026.
Germany’s SMES US trade policies
The findings are based on a representative special survey conducted in January of about 1,700 small and medium-sized firms with annual revenues of less than €500 million ($573 million).
Dirk Schumacher, chief KfW economist, said the situation was unlikely to improve in the near term. “German companies’ reluctance to engage in the US market is likely to persist until they regain more confidence in American economic policy,” he said.
He added that the US government’s tariff policies had contributed to the scepticism, particularly because of uncertainty about their future direction.
In February, the US Supreme Court ruled that a large proportion of the tariffs were invalid.
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German SMES Feeling Economic Crunch From US Trade Policies
