Germany’s export economy had been one of its strengths in past decades, and its cars such as BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagens and Audis are popular in the US.
Mr Nagel refuted claims that Germany was the “sick man of Europe”, saying it had a “strong economic basis” and “strong small and medium sized companies”.
“But nevertheless, when you are exposed to an export-oriented model, then you are more exposed in a situation when tariffs are going up and there are so many uncertainties, so many unknowns,” he added.
He said Germany could overcome such challenges “over the next couple of years”.
However, German consumers are set to face higher prices.
The head of Germany’s BGA federation of wholesale, foreign trade and service, Dirk Jandura, warned on Wednesday that Germans might have to dig deeper into their pockets to pay for American products, such as orange juice, bourbon and peanut butter, in supermarkets.