US losing attractiveness to German companies since trade conflict between EU, US: survey

BERLIN-- The United States is losing its attractiveness as a business location among German companies since the trade conflict between the European Union and the US, a survey showed on Tuesday.

Forty-two percent of German companies doing business in the US said the US market had become less attractive for them, while 20 percent of US companies doing business in Germany said the German market had become less attractive since the escalation of the trade conflict, the survey conducted by American Chamber of Commerce in Germany (AmCham) showed.

In addition, 18 percent of German companies and 6 percent of U.S. companies said that they have scaled back their investment plans in the other country since the outbreak of the trade conflict, the survey showed.

"The results show on the one hand how close and resilient the economic relations between the USA and Germany are, and at the same time the survey is a warning signal," AmCham chief Frank Sportolari said.

"Businesses need reliability, transparency and above all a roadmap to resolve the trade conflict between the EU and the US," Sportolari added.