Die Story im Ersten
Economy Under Stress Test: One Year Among Small and Medium-Sized Businesses
2025 • E29 Dec 17, 2025 45m
They manufacture precision technology in Waldbrunn, Balingen, and Lübeck, fire porcelain in Thuringia, or harvest wine in the Palatinate. Many of their companies have been family-owned for generations. Compared to large corporations, they receive less political attention, yet they are widely regarded as the backbone of the German economy.
In 2025, they faced the same challenges both at home and on the global market: a downturn, if not recession, domestically, along with a fierce tariff war with the United States under President Donald Trump, their often most important export market.
In 2025, they faced the same challenges both at home and on the global market: a downturn, if not recession, domestically, along with a fierce tariff war with the United States under President Donald Trump, their often most important export market.