German companies have significantly reduced their investment in the United States. According to calculations by the German Institute for Economic Research (IW), which utilized data from the Bundesbank, only about 4.3 billion euros flowed into the U.S. in the first half of 2026. This represents a substantial decline of 65% compared to the same period in the previous year.
This negative trend has persisted since the start of Donald Trump’s second term in January 2025. When compared to the first half of 2024-the final period before Trump’s return to the White House-the reduction was even more drastic, coming in at almost 80%. Furthermore, the current figures are considerably low when compared to the long-term averages; before the pandemic, German businesses typically invested an average of 15.8 billion euros in the US during the first half of the year.
A notable pattern emerged in the composition of direct investment flows throughout 2025. Specifically, while direct investment loans and reinvested profits remained above average, equity capital investment fell below average. Companies that were already operating within the United States continued to reinvest their earnings locally, but they became reluctant to commit new capital.
