Exports to other EU countries support approximately 7.2 million jobs in Germany, a study by Switzerland’s Prognos on behalf of the Bavarian Industry Association (vbw) says. Overall, gross value added of around € 550 billion is attributable to demand from EU partner countries. The figures date back to 2022, however, as full data for the years since are allegedly not yet available. The study points to “high value-added” production in the automotive and mechanical engineering industries, as well as the chemical industry, as benefiting most from exports to other EU nations, but the fact that these industrial sectors have turned into the main targets of deindustrialization since 2024, is not addressed. And it appears that even increased exports to other EU countries like France and the Netherlands cannot compensate for the decrease of exports to the USA and China.
The report and its shortcomings should spark a debate on how to increase exports to the Global South, rather than to portray the EU as the remedy.
