The German economy is waiting for the economic turnaround. As in the first half of 2025, real gross domestic product (GDP) stagnated in the third quarter. A difficult international environment and the new government’s rather tentative implementation of reforms continued to slow economic development. The US tariff dispute dragged on into the third quarter. In addition, competitiveness has deteriorated significantly due to the appreciation of the euro against the US dollar. This dampened exports to the US in particular, but also other exports denominated in dollars. And exports to China are facing increased competitive pressure there. At the same time, imports have risen, resulting in a negative contribution to growth from abroad. Furthermore, the government has so far failed to generate a spirit of optimism. The implementation of the announced reforms has been rather slow and has been overshadowed by differences within the coalition. As a result, there has been no improvement in sentiment among businesses or consumers.