3 July 2023 – German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) calls for reduction of bureaucracy in Germany and the European Union for the benefit of small and medium-sized enterprises. European Union adds bauxite, alumina, and aluminium to list of strategic raw materials. US housing market shows further signs of recovering.
German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) calls for reduction of bureaucracy
The German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) sees bureaucracy in Germany and the European Union as one of the biggest obstacles to economic recovery. Small and medium-sized enterprises in particular need to be relieved of bureaucratic burdens.
DIHK: Reducing bureaucracy and better regulation at last
The EU has the necessary instruments for this, but they are given far too little consideration and are used to the benefit of SMEs. Since 2015, the EU has had the “one-in-one-out” principle, which requires bureaucracy to be reduced if new bureaucracy is introduced elsewhere. Or the SME test, which aims to involve small and medium-sized enterprises more in the development process of laws and regulations. And impact assessments, which specifically examine the effects on SMEs.
Where is the reduction of bureaucracy?
Legislative projects on the European Supply Chain Act, the EU taxonomy (the so-called Sustainability Reporting Directive) and the EU sustainability reporting standards, the Packaging Regulation or the draft directive for a right to repair are on their way. In view of the currently enormous challenges, these projects should be accompanied by considerably lower (administrative and bureaucratic) burdens for business.
According to the DIHK, this is still being done far too little by the European Union and urgently needs to be implemented more consistently.
Improve CBAM for SMEs now
Especially in the case of the European Union Carbon Border Tax CBAM, which is to be introduced from October 2023, now would still be the opportunity to make adjustments in favour of small and medium-sized enterprises and to sustainably relieve them. The European Commission and the working group seem to have once again forgotten about the necessary reduction of bureaucracy. Now is the time to change this!
European Union adds bauxite, alumina and aluminium to list of strategic raw materials
Even though the Strategic Raw Materials Act has not yet been finalised, bauxite, alumina and aluminium have made it onto the European Union’s list of essential raw materials. This underlines once again the long-term shortage of aluminium and the raw materials needed for it in the EU.
US housing market shows further signs of recovering
US housing shows signs of recovering. Demand for homes remains strong, even with mortgage rates hovering around 7%. Driven by pent-up demand and homeowners’ reluctance to let go of their pandemic-low mortgage rates, buyers are willing to accept higher rates. With new home sales up 12% in May, builders are capitalising on the situation.
However, housing demand continues to be hampered by a shortage of housing inventory. Pending home sales in the US fell by 2.7% in May. This was lower than expected. This has been attributed to a lack of existing homes as homeowners wait to sell their properties.
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