US-German trade war sounds even more stupid than that with China. What US has to trade with Germany?
As for Germany its export is pretty much unique.
Would you buy precision industrial equipment from China? Also no tariff would force Wall Street buys to ditch their Benzes.
What does the US have to trade with Germany? Let’s see....there’s software and the whole tech industry. There’s pharmaceuticals and medical equipment - except the socialized medicine schemes in various countries refuse to pay for them.
I used to work for Medtronic. They’re a fortune 100 company. They make all sorts of medical devices. They had developed a new heart valve and had gone through years of expensive clinical trials in the US to get regulatory approval. It was more efficient than previous designs and would save a number of heart patients who would otherwise die in any given year. I worked on putting together the extensive scientific data proving the device’s effectiveness. We made presentations to the national health schemes in several countries - Germany and France among them. We were able to show how these devices would save the lives of thousands of their citizens per year. Nobody ever even questioned our evidence. It was air tight. They rejected the device anyway. Why? Price. They just didn’t want to pay the money. They opted instead to let thousands of their citizens die every year instead.
They strong arm the Pharmaceutical companies to sell their new drugs at cost - lest they simply reverse engineer them and use them as generics in their countries. That’s why those same drugs are so much more expensive in America. American consumers have to bear the R&D costs others refuse to pay for - yet another way in which the Yurps have been freeloading on America.
So don’t even try to tell me there is nothing the Germans would want to buy from America. I’ve seen it up close and personal. Their non tariff barriers prevent those sales from happening or they freeload as in the case of pharma.