Is Europe De-Indistrializing?

Daily Signal: Europe’s Alarming New Trend: Rapid De-Industrialization 

Germany, widely known as Europe’s industrial powerhouse, is now leading the Continent in an alarming new trend—rapid de-industrialization. 

Astronomical natural gas prices are forcing heavy industries, from smelters to fertilizer plants, to shut down or curtail production. Germany’s fabled “Mittelstand”—the collection of mid-sized firms that form the backbone of its economic might—is buckling under the weight of terrible decisions made by climate-obsessed politicians going back decades. 

“It’s not good news,” German Economic Minister Robert Habeck said Wednesday of his country’s plight. “[I]t can mean that the industries in question aren’t just being restructured but are experiencing a rupture—a structural rupture, one that is happening under enormous pressure.”  

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WNU Editor: European metal producers are in panic mode (see tweet below):

BREAKING: 40 CEOs of European metal producers have wrote an open later to Ursula Von Der Leyen and the European Commission warning of an "existential threat" to industry as power prices surge.

— SGM World News (@SGMWorldnews) September 7, 2022

My prediction. Expect massive EU government bailouts of these industries with money that they do not have in the coming months. 

Update: Here is how Russian President Putin is seeing it:  

    Europe is about to throw its achievements in building up its manufacturing capability, the quality of life of its people and socioeconomic stability into the sanctions furnace, depleting its potential, as directed by Washington for the sake of the infamous Euro-Atlantic unity. In fact, this amounts to sacrifices in the name of preserving the dominance of the United States in global affairs.

... 

   The competitive ability of European companies is in decline, for the EU officials themselves are essentially cutting them off from affordable commodities and energy, as well as trade markets. It will come as no surprise if eventually the niches currently occupied by European businesses, both on the continent and on the global market in general, will be taken over by their American patrons who know no boundaries or hesitation when it comes to pursuing their interests and achieving their goals. 

Hat tip Moon of Alabama.