About half of all companies surveyed estimate they would benefit from the lifting of EU sanctions, Gröschl says. For the Nordstream 2 pipeline, a subgroup of 196 managers is divided, with a small majority opposed to halting construction.
Gröschl adds: “Russia is unilaterally dependent on the EU as a supplier and customer, while the EU has a secondary role as a trading partner.” Russia imports mainly industrial products from the EU, but exports almost exclusively raw materials such as gas and oil.
Barriers to doing business with Russia include additional controls, trade bans and insufficient financing options. Exchange rate fluctuations, Russia’s efforts to replace imported goods, higher standards, political and economic uncertainty, loss of confidence and reputation, rules of local suppliers and increased competition with third countries also pose significant problems for German companies in doing business with Russia.
The Ifo Institute conducted a business survey in September 2020 on behalf of the Düsseldorf Chamber of Commerce and Industry; 862 German companies participated. A subgroup of 196 leaders was also examined on trade policy issues related to Russia.
Article (in German): “Impact of Russian sanctions on companies” by Jasmin Gröschl and Feodora Teti, published by ifo Schnelldienst1/2021.
HT
Source: The Nordic Page