BERLIN, June 22 (Xinhua) -- In the run-up to the election in September, the Federation of German Industries (BDI) on Tuesday demanded "concepts for a sustainable strengthening of economic competitiveness" from all parties.
"Germany needs a growth and investment offensive," BDI President Siegfried Russwurm said here at the Day of Industry. "Germany as an industrial location must become a place of the future."
He said the COVID-19 pandemic had "exposed the sometimes hair-raising digitalization deficits" of Germany's public administration.
In addition, means such as expropriation, nationalization and additional tax burdens would be counterproductive. In these fields, Germany was "among the laggards in Europe," said Russwurm, calling on the policymakers to focus on public investments.
Chancellor Angela Merkel said during her speech at the Day of Industry that "in the long run, good industrial policy means setting the right framework conditions and allowing corporate freedom within that framework."
According to Merkel, the government's investments in infrastructure, education and innovation, adding to around 90 billion euros (107.1 billion U.S. dollars) last year, were an important step. In addition, the country's COVID-19 stimulus package included around 50 billion euros in investments for climate protection and digitalization.
For 2021, the BDI expects real gross domestic product (GDP) in Germany to increase by 3.5 percent, compared to its April forecast of three percent.
Reasons for optimism are an "expected revival of the domestic economy" due to catch-up effects in private consumption, and significantly increasing investments as well as the international business.
Overall, the BDI expects Germany's industrial production to increase by eight percent this year. (1 euro = 1.19 U.S. dollars) Enditem
