The production of key technologies such as electric motors, batteries and wind turbines is often dependent on imported raw materials. Using German data, we analyze important raw materials that are re-quired to produce key technologies in Germany. We identify nine critical raw materials (1) with...

Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the configuration of international supply chains has received increased public attention. Pandemic-related disruptions in production and transportation have led to questions about the reliability of international production networks. Moreover, the war...

At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, global supply chains of firms came under increased public scrutiny. Pandemic-related production and transportation disruptions had put supply chains under severe pressure worldwide and were often associated with considerable economic costs. However, as the...

The Russian attack on Ukraine in February 2022 marked not only a turning point (Zeitenwende) for German security policy but also for German foreign economic policy. From a European standpoint, the war served as a painful reminder of how economic dependencies can be used as political leverage,...

The current COVID-19 crisis has shown the importance of supply chain diversification to mitigate the negative effect of unexpected supply shocks. The decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union poses additional challenges to foreign trade: Irrespective of the outcome of the Brexit...

How do German firms view the upcoming US election and a possible second Donald Trump presidency? As part of the ifo Business Survey in September 2024, more than 2,000 German manufacturing firms were asked about the US election. 44 percent of German manufacturing firms anticipate negative impacts...

US President Donald Trump has recently announced that tariffs on US imports from Canada and Mexico will take effect on March 4, 2025. This policy brief shows that the US tariffs would have a large impact on the North American neighbors. In the event of retaliation, all sectors of the economy...

US President Donald Trump proposed implementing "reciprocal tariffs", under which the US would raise import tariffs to match those imposed by its trading partners, further undermining the multilateral rules-based system. This policy brief examines the status quo of tariff differentials between...