Chemical industry: “In this situation we all have to stand together”.
(Photo: Getty Images)
Berlin The letter is both a declaration of solidarity and an appeal for perseverance: In a letter to Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens), top managers of German chemical companies thank Habeck for his “differentiated arguments” on the question of Russian gas supplies. At the same time, they assure him of support and promise to do everything “so that the value chains in our overall economy remain intact even in the crisis”.
The sender of the letter is Christian Kullmann, President of the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI) and Evonik boss. In addition to Kullmann, it was also signed by all the vice presidents and members of the executive committee of the VCI, including Bayer boss Werner Baumann, BASF boss Martin Brudermüller, Covestro boss Markus Steilemann and the bosses of Wacker Chemie and Lanxess, Christian Hartel and Matthias Zachert.
“Germany is facing the biggest crisis since the Second World War. In this situation we all have to stand together,” says the letter, which is available to the Handelsblatt.
>> Read here: Wacker Chemie prepares customers for higher prices
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The letter illustrates the concerns of large parts of the economy in the event that Russian gas deliveries should fail in the short term. The chemical industry would be particularly affected. It uses natural gas to produce heat and electricity, but also as a raw material.
Should there be bottlenecks in the gas supply, not only the chemical industry itself would be affected. The products of the industry are “basic building blocks for production in well over 90 percent of the industrial value chains in Germany,” says the letter. “Our contribution is often invisible, but indispensable for the smooth functioning of the entire economy.” Therefore, one looks with great concern at possible cuts or even shutdowns of deliveries from Russia, the letter says.
>> Read here: EU wants to enable state aid in the Ukraine crisis
In the past few days, Habeck, like Chancellor Olaf Scholz, has vehemently advocated not placing an embargo on Russian gas supplies. Scholz and Habeck warn of the consequences that can hardly be calculated. They received a lot of approval from business for their positioning.
Most of the traffic light politicians share the attitude of the chancellor and the economics minister – as do most of the Union politicians. However, there is concern in business that the brutal crackdown by the Russians in Ukraine could sour sentiment. For example, Union politician Norbert Röttgen (CDU) is calling for gas deliveries from Russia to be stopped immediately.
More: Floating LNG terminals could ease the situation