BSW on the economy

The BSW wants Germany to stay out of economic sanctions that, in the program's view, the United States pursues in its own interest. Trade agreements should secure supplies, export markets and standards rather than serve corporate interests. Regional economic cycles should be strengthened.

The BSW wants trade with many countries. Germany should not join US sanctions. Sanctions are trade penalties against a country. More key goods should come from Germany.

The program argues that an export-oriented country with few raw materials needs stable relations with as many countries as possible. According to the BSW, a trade conflict with China in particular would have serious consequences for the German economy. The party rejects free trade and investment protection agreements that override social rights or national rules. Key industries such as steel and basic chemicals should stay in the country, and dependence on imports, for example for medicines, should fall.

The BSW wants an active state industrial policy and wants to raise spending on research and development to at least four percent of economic output by 2030. An industrial fund is to invest in future sectors, key industries and start-ups. In the party's view, the state bears risks that private investors avoid.

The BSW wants to spend more money on research. The state should protect and rebuild key industries. A new fund should invest in young companies. A fund is a large pool of money.

According to the program, spending currently stands at about 3.1 percent of gross domestic product, while other industrial countries exceed five percent. The state should preserve and transform industries for strategic reasons and support innovation in a technology-neutral way, for example for climate protection and the circular economy. The industrial fund would give start-ups long-term capital that does not depend on quick profits. The BSW points out that major breakthroughs such as the internet or GPS came from publicly funded programs.

The BSW wants to turn large state-supported companies in key industries into foundation-owned companies and expand worker co-determination there. For mid-sized firms, a new legal form, the company with tied assets, is to be created. Profits would then stay in the company rather than flow to shareholders.

Some big companies get money from the state. The BSW wants to turn them into foundation-owned companies. Then the profit stays in the company. Mid-sized firms should get a new legal form.

The program criticizes listed corporations for paying out large sums instead of investing and names VW and BASF as examples. According to the BSW, foundation-owned companies reinvest most of their profits, weather crises better and are more innovative. The company with tied assets, also known as steward ownership, was in the coalition agreement of the previous government but was not implemented. In this form, profits may not go to outside owners, and takeovers by financial investors are ruled out. The legal form is also meant to help owners settle succession and keep liquidity in the business.

The BSW wants corporations to be taxed as heavily in Germany as mid-sized businesses and wants to stop profit shifting abroad. The Federal Cartel Office should get more resources and powers to limit market power. Smaller companies should be relieved of red tape.

Big corporations often pay less tax than small firms. The BSW wants to change that. The cartel office should become stronger. The cartel office checks whether companies are too powerful. Small firms should have less paperwork.

Interest and license payments to foreign holding companies should no longer reduce earnings for the local business tax and should otherwise be deductible only if the recipient pays an adequate minimum tax rate. The Federal Cartel Office should be able to carry out effective merger control. The party wants to examine caps on market share in areas such as energy, communications and food. The break-up law planned since 2009 should be updated and passed. In EU trade policy, Germany should press for defenses against unfair practices, including those of the United States.

The BSW wants to cut rules, requirements and procedures for businesses, which it sees as a lever for growth and innovation. Mandatory sustainability reporting would be suspended immediately and the supply chain law reformed. EU rules should not be implemented more strictly than required.

The BSW wants less red tape for companies. Companies should no longer have to write sustainability reports. The supply chain law should change. EU rules should not become even stricter in Germany.

The platform puts the cost of bureaucracy at 146 billion euros of economic output per year. It says much of the burden comes from EU law and rejects going beyond European standards. EU requirements that weigh heavily on companies and whose benefit the party doubts should no longer be adopted into German law at all. The BSW considers sustainability (ESG) reports useless and the supply chain law too burdensome for mid-sized firms. Thresholds are to be set so that small and medium-sized companies are exempt from more reporting and documentation duties.

The BSW wants to strengthen consumer protection because, in its view, large companies dictate prices and terms. It plans strict rules for the SCHUFA credit agency, clear food labeling and a ban on electricity and gas shutoffs.

The BSW wants to protect customers better. The SCHUFA should get strict rules. The SCHUFA collects data about debts. Food labels should clearly say what is inside. Nobody should have their power or gas cut off.

Credit checks are to be banned for consumer contracts unrelated to loans, and stored data is to be deleted after one year at the latest. Contents and origin are to be recognizable at a glance on food products. Consumer advice centers are to get more money for counseling and market monitoring, and state food inspection more funds and staff. The BSW wants to prohibit electricity and gas shutoffs by law. Social debt counseling is to be available everywhere.