BAnd the principal Angela Merkel (CDU) According to the wishes of BDI, we should strive to reduce industrial tariffs during the visit to Washington. “We want to eliminate trade barriers,” Siegfried Russwurm, chairman of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), wrote in a guest article in Süddeutsche Zeitung. As the United States requires product standard certification, European exporters will face the burden of bureaucracy and costs.
Merkel will meet with the President of the United States in Washington on Thursday Joe Biden together. Russwurm requested that the Prime Minister should also strive for easier travel to the United States for business travelers. “Many companies are eagerly waiting for their employees to be able to perform maintenance and repairs on site.”
Russwurm assumes that Biden will adopt a more gentle tone towards Merkel than his predecessor Donald TrumpBut no one should have any illusions: Even under Biden’s leadership, the United States will pursue a “clear agenda” when dealing with Germany, the BDI president emphasized.
Commercial boycott of Biden’s plan
At the same time, Biden hopes to promote competition in the US economy and weaken the power of large companies in certain industries. “It is competition that drives the economy and makes it grow,” he said on Friday, and signed an order aimed at stopping anti-competitive practices that benefit consumers and workers.
Lack of competition will push up prices and depress wages. On average, American households spend $5,000 a year. “We must go back to a bottom-up growth economy,” Biden said. “Be clear: Capitalism without competition is not capitalism, but exploitation.” The decree instructs the authorities to apply competition laws broadly and decisively.
Among other things, the antitrust agency FTC should put technology giants such as Facebook, Apple, Google, and Amazon under containment. Biden also wants to restrict the so-called “killer acquisitions” of large Internet companies from acquiring potential competitors. In general, the FTC should carefully study planned mergers and re-examine mergers that have already occurred.
The project also targets the aerospace, agriculture, banking and healthcare sectors. For example, it has increased the transparency of air baggage and rebooking fees, and eliminated excessive fees for internet contracts.
Cheaper drugs
It will become easier to import cheaper drugs in Canada, and hearing aids will be provided without a prescription. The non-competition obligations in millions of employment contracts can be cancelled. Consumer protectionists expressed appreciation for the project.
Biden issued this decree when he took office, and Biden counted on the authorities to have enough time to implement his plan. But democratic politicians are likely to encounter resistance in related industries. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce immediately opposed: Biden’s progress was too intrusive to the economy, the powerful organization explained. You will resolutely defend yourself against attempts to fix national prices, overwhelming and legally problematic regulations, and treat innovative industries such as public utilities.
