TRADE ASSOCIATIONS CRITICISE THE NEW LAW FOR GOING TOO FAR
In the light of the corona crisis, the German government fears a “sell-out” of German companies and the loss of important know-how to countries like China. In the midst of the crisis, the Federal Cabinet passed the amendment to the Foreign Trade and Payments Act (AWG) at the beginning of April. It is envisaged that in future, investments by foreigners in German companies will be subject to much stricter governmental control and will be easier to prohibit. The leading economic associations in Germany see the planned changes as a hinderance to the transaction market and have launched an initiative of associations against the amendment of the law. In our GSK Update, we have summarized the most important amendments to the Foreign Trade and Payments Act and explain which companies will be particularly affected by the changes.