Are the Germans out of Iraq reconstruction work?

'When it comes to selecting companies and placing contracts, it will be well remembered that Germany did not support the war efforts of the US and the British,' said Anton Börner, president of the German association of wholesale and foreign trade in a press interview. He added: 'we should harbor no illusions: the bridges and airports in Iraq will not be built by German contractors.'

There is also widespread scepticism in the mechanical engineering sector, which used to be very active in Iraq up to the first Gulf war. The director of VDMA, Germany's mechanical engineering association, Hannes Hesse, put it like this: 'Since Germany did not belong the 'Coalition of the Willing', we do not expect notable orders for our member companies.'

Observers point to the fact that the American Development Agency US AID - even before the start of the war - put out to tender infrastructure works for $900 million exclusively for US bidders. Previously, the US Government used to invite international companies, too, to submit bids for their development aid projects.

German analysts predict a further deterioration of US-German relations in the course of this year, resulting in a 10 % decline in trade between the two countries. For Germany's foreign trade as a whole, this would represent a decrease of 1 % for 2003.

Apart from the Americans turning a cold shoulder towards a German involvement in the post-war reconstruction of Iraq, however, German entrepreneurs see their position in the Arab world rather strengthened by the strict anti-war policy of the Schröder Government. Anton Börner commented: 'We note that there is a growing demand for German products in the Middle East and North Africa.'