German economic institute: Firms already feeling impact of US tariffs

Increased tariffs on imports into the United States have already had a negative impact on both the US and the German economies, Germany's ifo economic research institute reported on Thursday.

Almost 30% of companies looking to invest in the US economy had postponed their plans and 15% had cancelled those plans completely, the leading think tank said.

German domestic investment was also suffering, with 21% of companies postponing scheduled investment projects and 8% cancelling them completely.

"A shift in global trade relations away from the United States is expected by one in three of the industrial companies surveyed by the ifo Institute; only 17% anticipate an increase," ifo said.

"More than 60% report negative effects from the US tariffs introduced in January," it added. 

Ifo surveys several thousand companies every month for its forecasts.