The German arms exports have gone back to the beginning of the year. Between January and the end of March, the Federal government approved deliveries to a value of 1.12 billion euros, that is less than 2018, on average, per quarter (€1.21 billion). The answer of the German Federal Ministry of Economics to a question of the green Deputy Omid Nouripour.
According to information from the industry, the particularly restrictive attitude of the government towards countries outside of the EU and Nato is responsible. In the coalition contract of the SPD and CDU, there is a partial arms export ban for the on-the-Yemen-war countries involved. After the killing of the Saudi government critic, Jamal Khashoggi, was released in January, a full ban on supplies for Saudi Arabia, which was loosened at the end of March.
2018 the collapse of the permits by almost a quarter to 4.82 billion euros. It was suffered for the third year in a row, in the defense industry to decline. A growth there in 2015 – at the time, to a record level of 7,86 billion euros. Since then it goes downhill.
Despite the Export ban in November was one of Saudi-Arabia in the year as a whole to the best customers of the German arms industry: Approved exports worth 416 million euros. Alone from January until October 2018, German companies exported arms to the value of 160 million euros in the country. Thus, the value of exports was already in the first ten months of around 50 million Euro higher than in the entire year of 2017.
Turkey is among Top 20 customers
the main customer for German arms exports to the United States in the first quarter of this year, with approved supplies to the value of 169,1 million euros and the UK with 156,9 million Euro. Behind Australia (87.8 million), Morocco (56.1 million) and Austria (54.6 million).
From the Saudi Arabia-led Alliance to support the Yemeni government against the Houthi rebels, no country is among the Top 20. Turkey stands with export permits to the value of 15.3 million euros in 19th place. Both the Nato-Partner Turkey, as well as for Saudi Arabia, there are, according to dpa-information, a backlog of export requests in the billions.
the CDU and the SPD want to agree by the middle of the year on new arms export guidelines. The social Democrats put on a strict regulation. “We do not want any arms exports to crisis regions and dictatorships,” in its European election program. The Union fears, however, that a too restrictive export policy, Germany could harm politically. The partial arms export stop for the Yemen war, the participating States also applies to European community projects and is criticised by the UK and France.
