German minister: Bauma shows US ‘can’t turn back time’ on tariffs

Klara Geywitz, Germany’s federal government minister for housing, urban development and construction, speaking at the opening of Bauma 2025 in Munich, Germany (Image: Neil Gerrard)

That’s according to Germany’s minister of housing, urban development and construction, Klara Geywitz, who was speaking at the opening of what is billed as the world’s largest trade show.

Her comments came as the world continues to try to get to grips with the consequences of a raft of new trade tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump.

Geywitz told representatives from the media who assembled at the show that machines on display at Bauma, which she described as the “heartbeat” of the sector, demonstrated the level international co-operation among manufacturers.

She said, “Free trade has propelled many parts of the world – Germany and also many Asian countries – to a new level of prosperity. It isn’t a zero-sum game: it benefits everyone.

“Whoever believes that you can just turn back time, cut global connections, and go back to a time where we just produced cotton, coffee, and cloth – I think at Bauma one can feel with their own two hands that this isn’t possible and that the innovation of the construction industry shown here disproves that idea in its entirety.”

Last week, early analysis by Off-Highway Research, reported by Construction Briefing, suggested that new US tariffs would add $4.2 billion to the cost of machines imported to the US in 2024.

Geywitz was speaking at a difficult time for the construction industry in Germany, which has seen sluggish activity levels and a lack of new orders, particularly in residential construction.

However, she said that a new €500 billion support package for infrastructure, recently approved in Germany’s parliament, would help the industry to turn a corner.

Describing the situation for Germany’s construction sector as “a little more positive than in previous years”, Geywitz said, “People expect things to get going again, especially in Germany. With the €500 billion package, we have a huge boost to invest in our infrastructure, and we need to do so faster than the deterioration of the infrastructure. That means we have to get the billions of dollars into the streets very quickly.”

She promised an acceleration of the planning system and the approval of new projects to help kickstart the sector.

Emphasising how important the Bauma show, which will see an estimated half a million visitors this week, is to the construction sector, Geywitz also noted that construction work is essential in a growing economy.