BERLIN, July 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. tariff policy continues to weigh on Germany's industrial sector, with many manufacturers postponing investment and passing higher costs on to U.S. customers, a survey by the Munich-based ifo Institute showed on Wednesday.
The survey, conducted among around 1,800 manufacturing companies in June, found that 62 percent of firms said U.S. tariffs had negatively affected their business. The share exceeded 70 percent in the mechanical engineering and automotive industries.
"Even in the second year of Donald Trump's presidency, U.S. tariff policy remains a significant burden for German industry," the ifo Institute said.
Companies were also bracing for tariffs to remain high over the longer term, with 63 percent expecting tariff levels to stay elevated through the end of Trump's term in office.
The uncertainty has also affected investment decisions. Nearly 40 percent of firms said they had cancelled, postponed or relocated investment projects in response to U.S. trade policy. The impact extended to investment in Germany, with 16 percent of companies with existing investment plans saying they had cancelled domestic projects as a result, nearly double the share reported a year earlier.
To cope with higher tariffs, companies were increasingly passing on the additional costs to customers. Among affected exporters, 34 percent said they had passed on the full cost of the tariffs to U.S. customers, while another 28 percent had passed on more than half. ■