The Federal government warns that German companies could suffer due to new U.S. punitive measures against Russia. The economic political reasons for the fed: It’s going to help US Fracking industry.
The U.S. plans for new Russia sanctions stir up the fear of the impact on European companies, and Calling in Germany is growing louder and, if necessary, in the same coin to repay. Federal economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said that the German company threatened harm and warned of a trade war with the United States.
“There is the possibility of counter-sanctions by the world trade organization provides,” said Zypries in the ARD. The European Union is set to counter-measures. The East Committee of the German economy, met in the same Horn. It was the very last thing you wish, but you must keep the possibility of counter-sanctions open, said the Executive Director of the Association, Michael Harms, in Berlin.
The US house of representatives had on Tuesday adopted a draft law, the applicable punitive measures against Russia strengthened. Thus, Russia for the annexation of the Ukrainian Peninsula of Crimea, the support of President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian civil war and alleged influence on the US presidential election punished.
Gas prices for Europe soon in Washington?
In the center of the sanction plans of the energy sector. In the Oil and gas business in the USA are a competitor of Russia. Therefore, the criticism stems from the fact, that the US wants to pull out of the sanctions will also have an economic Benefit.
In the centre of the resentment in Germany and the European Union, the impact of the US plans non-us companies. The German economy and German politicians accuse the USA to take advantage of this to enforce their own economic interests in Europe – to press more Oil and Gas in the European market.
“Such extraterritorial effects of such sanctions are, in our opinion, in violation of international law”, – said the coordinator of the German government for transatlantic relations Jürgen Hardt, in the SWR. You will not accept that the United States take on the sanctions impact on Europe’s energy policy.
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Secondly, The Text Of The Legislation
East Committee managing Director, Harms criticized: “The requested sanctions against pipeline projects to serve the energy exports from the US to Europe, to create Jobs in the US and to strengthen US foreign policy”. The stand is open in the draft law. Specifically, the United States aimed to stop the planned gas pipeline”North Stream II” in the Baltic sea, which wants to build the Russian Gazprom group’s European companies. Also the standing in the law.
Overall, international companies from Germany, the Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom were threatened, which were involved in the Expansion, the modernisation and the preservation of Russian power lines. “The law hangs like a sword of Damocles hanging over European companies involved in the energy sector”. Concern also that the Russian railway as a sanction would be called a goal.
Criticism also comes from the German BASF group, working through its subsidiary Wintershall for a long time with Russian partners in the energy sector. The chief Executive officer Kurt Bock has complained: “to decide on sanctions at the expense of a third party, namely, to the detriment of Europe, and to promote at the same time, the American economy, according to the Motto ‘buy american ‘gas’ – this is quite remarkable, especially when one remembers that Russia supplies us with for decades now in Europe.” However, it was probably not spoken the last word in Washington. He hoped that European interests are taken into account.
“No major effects”
In the Russian press said citing sources from the Moscow Ministry of foreign Affairs, should the US President Donald Trump the bill to sign, would take the Russian side retaliation. With a large majority in the US house of representatives adopted the draft must still be approved by the Senate and then to of Trump signed.
An economic adviser to President Vladimir Putin does not anticipate that the new US sanctions have a particularly negative impact. However, it dampened the hope that the existing Western criminal measures were to be repealed in the next few years, said Alexei Kudrin, the Reuters news Agency. The current sanctions have pushed the economic power of Russia is currently around 0.5 percent.
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United States prohibits transactions with Russia
The new U.S. sanctions projects fall, of all things, in a time in which the German-Russian exchange of goods is slowly recovering. In the first five months of this year, German exports to Russia to 28.49 percent over the same period last year, according to the East Committee.. For the entire year of 2017, the East Committee are now expected to come with a far greater increase in Russia exports than in the past. A Plus of 20 percent was not realistic, said the managing Director of Harms. At the beginning of the year, the interest group that supports German companies in 21 countries, had expected, with ten per cent.
Eastern Europe is back
The German trade transactions with Russia have suffered in the past years, under the sanctions imposed by the EU because of the annexation of the Crimea. Moscow responded to this with counter-measures. Russia had been hit, starting in 2014, mainly due to the combination of sanctions, Oil prices and abgewertetem rubles, according to the words of Harms “sharply”. The economy has caught up but in the meantime quite well. He expects a growth of one to two percent for 2017.
Also in other countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, German companies delivered last significantly longer. “Eastern Europe is back as a growth region for the German economy,” said Harms. “German exports to Eastern Europe are growing almost three times as much as the entire German Export”. In the first five months, the trading volume climbed in the Region by more than a fifth to 52 billion euros. Exports increased by 18 percent, imports from the Region by 22 percent.
who/hb (rtrd, dpa, archive)