German companies hope to increase trade with Russia

Nearly two-thirds of German companies on the Russian market continue to operate despite the current economic sanctions and expect to see an increase in trade with Russia in 2017, the German Committee for the Eastern Economy and the German-Russian Chamber of Commerce reported on Friday.

63 percent of companies expect positive development of economic relations with Russia and an increase in trade and investment turnover. 40 percent of German companies are ready to hire new workers in Russia. One third intend to invest in Russia over the next year. In 2016, German investments in Russia amounted to almost 2 billion euros.

At the beginning of this week, the German carmaker Daimler announced that it is ready to invest 250 million euros to build its first plant in Russia. The first E-Class SUVs and trucks will roll off the assembly line in 2019.

The survey involved 190 German companies operating in the Russian market and 122,000 employees. Their trade volume will reach 29 billion euros.

German exports to Russia have almost halved since 2013. German business expects that in 2017 it will be possible to stop the negative export trend and increase it by 5 percent. In 2016, German exports to Russia fell 0.3 percent compared to 2015.

The Eastern Commission advocates a gradual abandonment of EU restrictions, along with progress in the implementation of Minsk agreements regarding the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine. Chancellor Angela Merkel, however, adheres to the point of view that the sanctions can be lifted only after the fulfillment of all points of these agreements by both parties to the conflict.