According to a survey, only a few US companies give Germany good marks as a location – mainly because of the high energy costs.
In competition with the United States, Germany is losing ground, especially since the United States is courting companies with billions in subsidies. This is shown by a study published by the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany (AmCham Germany) and the consulting firm Roland Berger. However, AmCham President Simone Menne believes that warnings of a widespread exodus of companies abroad are exaggerated.
Only a good third of the surveyed US companies operating in Germany (34 percent) rate Germany as a “good” or “very good” location. According to the “Transatlantic Business Barometer”, it was 59 percent last year and 63 percent in 2021.
“US companies have been criticizing high energy costs and the sluggish digitization in Germany for years, and now there is growing concern about the shortage of skilled workers,” Menne told the German Press Agency. However, the strengths in this country were also seen, such as legal certainty, the quality of the skilled workers and the strong research.
“Currently the location competition is running in favor of the USA”
According to the survey, almost three quarters of German companies in the USA (74 percent) want to expand their activities there, but this only applies to every second US company in Germany (53 percent). 74 percent rated the USA as “good” or “very good”. “Currently, the location competition is in favor of the USA,” says Menne.
“There are loud warnings about companies moving away, but the reality is different,” said Menne. “I also don’t see the danger of de-industrialization in Germany.” In an international comparison, Germany is still an attractive location. Despite the energy problem, almost two thirds of the companies surveyed do not want to relocate production to the USA, according to the survey. Nor would the IRA have any reason to panic.
On the other hand, 38 percent of the US companies surveyed expect better location conditions in Germany in the medium term. “US companies perceive it positively that the federal government has quickly reduced its energy dependency on Russia and that gloomy economic scenarios have not materialized,” said Menne. Many US companies also believed that the high energy costs in this country would fall in the medium term. Furthermore, there are also high subsidies in Europe, such as the European Chip Act for the semiconductor industry and the “Fit for 55” package of measures for climate protection, said Menne.
