EY: Four out of ten German companies stop investments because of the USA

London – US tariff policy is currently the number one concern for CEOs around the world. This is shown by the latest CEO survey by EY Parthenon, EY's strategy and transaction consultancy, reported on by the "Welt" (Saturday edition). 42 percent of the approximately 1,200 managers surveyed in April cite current geopolitical and trade policy uncertainty as the main risk for their company. Issues such as the climate crisis and the resulting new environmental legislation, as well as labor and skilled labor shortages or technology and cybersecurity threats, rank at a maximum of about half as high. The initial reaction to the threat of a global trade war is caution. "The uncertainty is enormous and is causing companies around the world to rethink their investment plans," said Sandra Krusch, partner at EY-Parthenon in Germany. "In concrete terms, this means companies are waiting and postponing major investment decisions." The volatile and unpredictable US tariff policy has thus become the greatest global economic risk. German companies, in particular, are putting the brakes on: 85 percent of CEOs in Germany say they have recently changed investment plans due to trade policy developments. Two-thirds report a postponement of investments. Furthermore, four out of ten companies have even completely halted at least one project. This is more than in any other of the 21 industrialized countries participating in the study. By comparison, the corresponding figure in China is only 23 percent, in Canada 14 percent, and the global average is 22 percent. "The German corporate landscape is characterized by its high degree of internationalization," explained Krusch. "Disrupted supply chains, high additional costs, price increases in purchasing and sales, high liquidity burdens, and enormously increasing administrative costs: This is a disaster, especially for globalized German corporations."