Jens Südekum: From Export Champion to Investment Failure
Germany has earned more than it has invested for decades – and now the bill is due. Four growth areas could bring about a turnaround. A guest article.
Germany has achieved significant export surpluses over the decades, but the capital generated has often been invested abroad in low-yielding assets rather than being used for domestic development of new business areas. As a result, key future technologies such as digital platforms, semiconductor production, and battery production have largely been developed elsewhere.
Despite having a strong foundation, including world market leaders, robust research, and industrial networks, Germany has failed to capitalize on its export success. A new study for the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung identifies four growth areas with the greatest potential: climate-neutral machines, pharma and medical technology, security and aerospace, and digital trust technologies like AI and cybersecurity, which together account for around 410 billion euros in industrial gross value creation.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's report — not a translation of it. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
