March 28, 2024

US sanctions against Russia may harm German companies

“The US has left the common line it had with Europe for sanctions against Russia,” Zypries told ARD on Thursday. She added that the lack of coordination with the EU may affect German companies.

© Tobias SchwarzGerman business lobby urges EU action against new US sanctions on Russia

On Wednesday, the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) said that new sanctions against Russia may have a negative impact on Europe’s energy security and hurt the German economy, adding that they appear to favor American firms.

DIHK’s chief economist of the German business lobby, Volker Treier, has urged the EU to address the issue.

“The European Commission now must make efforts to shed light on the current situation, as well as resist the exterritorial effect of new US penalties. We get the impression the US pursues their own economiс interests,” he told TASS.

“If German firms are banned from participating in gas pipeline enterprises, very important projects in the energy supply security sector can be halted. In that case, the German economy will be discernibly influenced,” Treier said.

German Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer also told a news conference on Wednesday that the sanctions bill “concerns not only German industry…sanctions against Russia should not become a tool of industrial policy [pursued] in the US interests.”

READ MORE: ‘America 1st doesn’t mean Europe last’ – EU lashes out at US sanctions against Russia

“In our opinion, it is not in the Americans’ right to judge or stipulate which way European companies may engage in cooperation with any third parties – particularly with Russian energy companies,” Schaefer said.

Speaking at the same briefing, government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer added that Berlin believes “the European industry should not become the target of US sanctions.”

The bill was also harshly criticized by the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, who said that “’America first’ cannot mean that Europe’s interests come last.”

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/397655-us-russia-sanctions-harm-german-companies/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

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