Germany Warns Of Historic Challenge As Trade Slips Into Deficit
Rising energy prices pushed up the cost of imports into Europe’s biggest economy in May, while global trade disruption weighed on exports, causing a $1 billion deficit — the first since 1991. The figures contrasted with years which Germany’s manufacturing exports drove the country’s growth and made it the powerhouse of the EU economy. Warning on Monday that Germany faced a “historic challenge”, Chancellor Olaf Scholz added that “the crisis will not pass in a few months” because Russia’s war in Ukraine “has changed everything and supply chains are still being disrupted by pandemic”....