Exactly. Was a great boon for 30 years for Germany as their domestic exports were the only game in town for cheap and whitegoods consumer hardware within the EU

Exactly. Was a great boon for 30 years for Germany as their domestic exports were the only game in town for cheap and whitegoods consumer hardware within the EU - e.g. Miele, Siemens, Bosch, Braun, Grundig, Neff, Whirlpool, Grundig... The second it advantages another EU country at their expense, however...