IfM-Position Paper
The impact of the provisional US-EU trade agreement on Mittelstand enterprises
On 27 July 2025, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump settled on a preliminary trade agreement. Of particular relevance to Mittelstand enterprises is that US import tariffs on most goods will only rise to 15% instead of the 30% previously anounced.
In other areas, such as the pharmaceutical industry, the level of customs duties remains unclear, while tariffs of 50% will continue to be levied on steel and aluminium imports into the US.
Figure of the Month
277,000
new businesses were established as full-time employment in 2025. With this, the number of new business start-ups exceeded pre-pandemic levels of 2019.
Policy Brief "Entrepreneurship in Focus"
Vocational Qualifications in the Context of Innovation
Vocational education and training (VET) is more than securing the supply of skilled labour – it also strengthens firms’ innovative capacity.
Cooperation with University of Siegen
Zukunftspanel Mittelstand
NUI region ranking
Offensive Mittelstand
Data of the IfM Bonn
