How Dependent Is Germany on Raw Material Imports? An Analysis for the Production of Key Technologies

Tasks

The study will be conducted within a framework agreement with the Chamber of Industry and Commerce for Munich and Upper Bavaria to provide objective, scientifically-based economic advisory work.

The German economy benefits more than almost any other from open world markets and is integrated to a large extent into international value chains. Brexit, geopolitical tensions, protectionism, the Coronovirus pandemic and, last but not least, the Ukraine war have rattled trade flows and international supply chains. Currently, the worldwide linkage of production processes through global supply chains is often presented as a risk. 

The Coronavirus pandemic and the Ukraine war have shown that even a small number of precursors and raw materials (for example, semiconductors from Taiwan or gas from Russia) can lead to major disruptions in the entire supply chain. This is particularly problematic if the country is highly dependent on a few suppliers. An analysis of Germany's dependencies on individual raw materials at the product level is therefore of great importance in order to identify and, if necessary, minimize the risk of supply chain disruptions. 
 

Methods

The aim of the study is to empirically derive Germany's dependence on raw material imports for key technologies on the basis of empirical data and to draw conclusions for the adjustment of Germany's foreign trade policy and business model. 
Various data sources are used for the analysis.