German industry unsettled by Trump victory

German industry experts on Wednesday (November 9) said the economy felt unsettled after Republican nominee and political outsider Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election, bringing uncertainty which roiled global markets.

“No one knows what will happen now. You can see that at the moment in the markets. It’s down at the moment, maybe there is going to be an Up again. The USA are a central partner for us as a market, but also for the creation of the globalisation. And during the election campaign Trump argued quite much against the globalisation and questioned the free trade agreement a lot,” said the managing director of the German chambers and industry (DIHK), Martin Wansleben.

He underlined that as a democratic country Germany now would have to handle the U.S. election outcome in a thoughtful manner. “This is our message. Because economy and the creation of globalisation – and with that the international economy – can only function when one sits down at the table together and talks at eye level. To lash about makes no sense” he said.

Marcel Fratzscher, head of the German institute for economic research (DIW), called the U.S. Election Day a ‘black day’ for world politics, but said he was still optimistic for the German economy.

“The German economy is positioned very well. It is globally very diversified, has a high market share and is very flexible. I am optimistic that the world economy can cope with that. But of course much depends on how many of his election campaign threats Trump will be able to implement,” he added.

Markets had priced a win for Democrat Hillary Clinton, who was seen as a status quo option. There is substantial uncertainty about Trump’s policy positions, as well as market skepticism over his views on topics such as trade.

He wants to rewrite international trade deals to reduce trade deficits. He has taken positions that raise the possibility of damaging relations with America’s most trusted allies in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.