Forum newsletter: Buy European – Sensible industry protection or dangerous isolationism? New Economy Short Cut with Armin Steinbach

Dear friends and colleagues,

For decades, the rules of globalisation seemed fairly clear: anyone who wants to succeed in the markets must try to offer the best possible products at the lowest possible price – and ensure that their own country’s economy remains as competitive as possible internationally. That era is over. And not only since Donald Trump’s tariffs and China’s enormous state subsidies. The model had already begun to falter when it became clear that some countries were consistently relying on export surpluses – Germany among them.

By now, not much remains of the ideal of completely free competition. This raises the question of how Germany, in particular, as a well-established export nation, should respond: by making ever greater efforts to become cheaper in the market – something that is pushing some industries beyond their limits? Or by responding to unfair competition and strategic dependencies with appropriate countermeasures? This is where the debate begins over the idea of “Buy European,” which the European Commission wants to promote as a guiding principle – namely, supporting only those companies that purchase a minimum share of their products from Europe. Not least because the United States follows a similar approach with its “Buy American” policy.

But is that enough? Or does Europe need more to develop its industries and successfully manage the transformation – for example, the shift of the automotive industry toward electric mobility? And what risks arise when countries start competing with one another over mandatory minimum purchases of domestic products?

Armin Steinbach, the chief economist at the German Federal Ministry of Finance, recently made the federal government’s position clear: in favour of a “Buy European” approach. We will discuss the pros and cons with the economist in our next New Economy Short Cut – on March 17 at 4 p.m. Registration is available here.

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Who will defend democracy against tech bosses and authoritarians? That was the topic of the New Economy Talk, organised in cooperation with Surplus Magazin a week ago. The keynotes will be available shortly – on newforum.org.

Have a great weekend,

Thomas Fricke 

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