KfW Research: Many German SMEs are pulling out of the US

• Fifty-two per cent of companies with business relationships in the US say current US policies are hurting their operations
• Only 11.3 per cent of SMEs still have business relationships in the US

The trade, economic and foreign policy of the US administration that took office in early 2025 has also hit German SMEs. Fifty-two per cent of small and medium-sized enterprises with business relationships in the US report negative effects on their operations, while 36 per cent of them report no changes so far. Only around seven per cent have benefited from the policy changes of the US. Most of these are likely to be companies with production sites in the US and businesses from specific sectors such as the security and defence industry.

These are the findings of a special survey of small and medium-sized enterprises with an annual turnover of up to EUR 500 million which was done by KfW Research in January 2026.

Many SMEs are abandoning their US operations in response to the changed circumstances. The share of small and medium-sized enterprises with business relationships in the US fell significantly from 18.7 per cent in September 2019 to 11.3 per cent in January 2026.

In particular, many businesses have stopped direct and indirect exports. Only 5.8 per cent of the 3.9 million German SMEs still had customers in the US in January 2026, down from 7.1 per cent in 2019 and a high 8.5 per cent in 2025. Furthermore, in January 2026 only 3.0 per cent still had customers in Germany or other EU countries that exported to the US for their part – after 7.4 per cent in 2019 and 5.1 per cent in 2025.

“The US administration’s tariff policies are a burden for German SMEs. Besides, businesses are very anxious about the future development of US policies. The situation has been further complicated by the US Supreme Court ruling that overturned a large portion of the tariffs. German enterprises are likely to stay away from the US market until they have regained confidence in US economic policy,”

said Dr Dirk Schumacher, Chief Economist of KfW.

The study is available at Economics in Brief | KfW

KfW supports SMEs with a number of promotional programmes on behalf of the Federal Government. More information is available at We are strengthening the SME sector (German page).