Trump presidency would ravage US economy: German ministry

Germany’s Federal Ministry of Finance believes if Donald Trump gets elected the president of the United States, he will severely damage the American economy.

According to an internal memorandum reported by Der Spiegelmagazine on Saturday, the ministry said it expects “shrinking gross domestic product, fewer jobs and higher unemployment,” in America if the Republican nominee were to implement his controversial economic plan.

The billionaire real estate tycoon, who has never held elected office, favors cutting taxes for everyone and reducing the number of tax brackets from seven to three, curbing government as well as ending trade deals with foreign countries.

Trump claims his economic plan would generate annual economic growth of 3.5 percent and create 25 million jobs over a decade. But several economists have expressed doubts about the feasibility of his economic plan.

Trump’s economic policy “not feasible”, Spiegel cited the document as saying. In addition, the billionaire’s plan would violate international or American law and could be “no basis for a realistic economic policy.”

Last month, Oxford Economics, a British forecasting firm with offices in the United States, said the US economy will shrink $1 trillion smaller five years later than expected if Trump becomes president.

The firm, which specializes in “global forecasting and quantitative analysis,” cited Trump’s policies, which could result in “adverse” consequences.

From 2017, the country’s economy is expected to grow at a constant rate of around 2 percent, reaching $18.5 trillion in 2021, the firm said based on its so-called baseline scenario.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic senator from Massachusetts and former Harvard Law School professor, has also denounced Trump’s economic vision.

Commenting on Trump’s economic policy outlined in a speech in August, Warren said the billionaire’s economic plan “was written by rich corporate insider advisers to make the economy even greater for rich corporate insiders.”

The Massachusetts senator blasted Trump and his economic vision for the United States, accusing him of tipping the scales for the wealthy Americans.