Interesting, but most of that appears to be dated or speculative, as in "some elements in Germany want to...." Since the first article was written in 2009 have we seen German banks pulling capital back in country? I'd say it's just the opposite. Germany has been the main (albeit reluctant) party keeping the troubled EU economies afloat. There are some interesting points in there, though. Particularly that protectionism these days is tending to take a less direct form, such as government support for industry (like our own subsidies for green energy, or cash for clunkers). South Korea has been a master of that, helping its industrial conglomerates outperform foreign competitors.
But I guess that begs the question: is it really protectionism for a government to lends its resources to domestic private industry? I think there has to be a distinction between government helping industry become more competitive, and government directly intervening to benefit industry because it can't compete internationally. In for the former case government is helping to improve efficiency and competitiveness while in the latter government is in effect fostering inefficiency and uncompetitiveness by shielding companies from stronger competition.
Ok I didn't find the article I was looking for ... but I found one similar. Some interesting practices. VAT is old news however a few other things. I didn't pull everything from the article just a few highlights.
How do Other Nations Balance Their Trade | Economy In Crisis
Non-tariff barriers reflected in EU and German policy include agricultural and manufacturing subsidies, quotas, import restrictions and bans for some goods and services, market access restrictions in some services sectors, non-transparent and restrictive regulations and standards, and inconsistent regulatory and customs administration among EU members. Restrictions in services markets and the burden of regulations and standards exceed EU policy.
Germany’s covert trade barriers—which should perhaps better be called “trade balancing measures,” as it would be a mistake to confuse them with crude protectionism—begin with careful control over Germany’s currency.
The corporate structure of Germany also fights trade deficits. Germany’s universal banks, for example, pressure the companies they own stakes in not to source components from abroad, which would weaken supplier companies they have big loans to. Similar pressures operate in retail and other parts of the supply chain. And the generally high level of German state involvement in industry, ranging from training schemes to state-owned banks, comes with similar strings attached. As one German puts it,
Germany as a whole has a near 48 percent share of its economy is some shape or fashion state controlled or run. The German is not even really fully aware of the true tax load he’s under nor the proportion of government that controls his life. Tell most Germans that the FRAPORT [airports] is a state entity and they are perplexed and confused. Explain to them about the GEZ, and how ARD, ZDF, HR3, SWF, DW, BR3, NDR, WDR etc. are more or less ‘state’ run entities and they are in disbelief. But the truth is, these agencies get their money through a tax that the state controls and their CEO is state-appointed by a committee. The Deutsche Bahn [national railway system] is another state entity, as is the Telecom.
The reason why France had Citroen Peugeot and Renault for all these years and even BMW and Mercedes, Fiat, Lancia etc. or Audi and VW could not break into their market is because even Germany, Great Britain and Italy were being kept out of the French market with such games for years. Now they ‘harmonized’ a lot of hidden trade barriers and while they no longer play the games they once did with each other, they still play them with the U.S.
German motor vehicle standards require many modifications to the US car despite the fact that German safety standards (No side impact struts in doors, safety glass that isn’t as good…..etc.) are lower. Example: On U.S. cars you had to disconnect the red brake light in the window of cars many years ago. Years ago (The U.S. used halogen lights first) you had to switch out headlights because the US used halogens on some cars and the Germans didn’t. Why? What safety aspect was impacted? None! It was pure games just to make it hard to import a car.