Germany's War Economy

Germany's current government has approved massive arms exports to countries in conflict areas, according to a new report. The CDU-SPD cabinet also set new records for selling weapons, despite pledges to reduce it. Merkel's government has approved over €25.1 billion ($30.9 billion) worth of weapons sales since taking power in 2014.

The most drastic change comes in exports to nations outside EU and NATO – Berlin approved €14.48 billion in arms between 2014 and 2017. This marks a 47 percent increase compared to the 2010-2013 cabinet, which was also run by Merkel. Ahead of the 2013 coalition agreement, the SPD had pledged to impose strict rules on exporting weapons. 

The report comes at a difficult time for the German government, amid the uproar of German-built tanks deployed by Turkey in Syria against the Kurds.