Trump tariffs expected to grind German economy to a halt

Germany’s economy will not grow for the third year in a row, the government said Thursday, scaling back a previous prediction as President Donald Trump's tariffs bite into Europe's largest economy, leaving it stagnant.

- MELISSA EDDY

In January, the German government had predicted 0.3% economic growth, but Trump's tariffs of 25% on imported automobiles, steel and aluminium threaten to hit Germany's export-oriented economy hard, as could the turbulence in the markets caused by the yo-yo nature of how the tariffs have been imposed.

"The German economy, which is already suffering from weak foreign demand and reduced competitiveness, is particularly affected by the US trade policy," Robert Habeck, Germany's economy minister, told reporters in Berlin on Thursday.

Germany is the only member of the Group of 7 major industrialised nations whose economy has failed to grow in the past two years.