Germany's Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) announced on Friday that the German economy shrank by 0.3 percent in the second quarter of this year compared to the first quarter.

The office, based in the city of Wiesbaden in south-central Germany, explained that this contraction in Europe's largest economy defied the expectations of its experts, who had predicted a contraction of only 0.1 percent.

The office attributed this decline to lower corporate investments in construction work and the purchase of new machinery, in addition to transatlantic trade disputes, which led to a drop in the performance of the vital export sector for the German economy.

It is worth noting that the United States has imposed tariffs of 15 percent on goods imported from the European Union since the summer of last year. This has placed German companies in a real predicament due to their extensive trade relations with American markets.

These tariffs are causing significant damage to the German economy, particularly to the automotive and chemical products industries, which will affect all sectors of the economy.