The history of the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) is long. It was founded in 1861 as the "Allgemeiner Deutscher Handelstag" by various capitalists to serve their common interest in uniform weights and measures, the abolition of bordercustoms and a uniform trade law.

In the time of Hitler-fascism, in 1933 NSDAP functionaries forcibly took over the leadership over the Chambers of Commerce and Industry. In order to impose the new political form of organization of the imperialist bourgeoisie, fascism, various laws were enacted in 1935. Part of this "reorganization" campaign was also that the Chambers of Commerce were transferred into the Reich Economic Chambers and these were subordinated to the Reich Economic Ministry. That is, in order to be able to serve German imperialism better, capitalists who did not or too little serve German imperialism were forced into state capitalism.
This small detour in history is necessary to better understand the current situation of the chambers and their umbrella organization, the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK):
Today, the various, local chambers of industry and commerce are all organized in the nationwide umbrella organization, the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), whose job it is to lobby for the capitalists.
Now, the interests and political goals of the various capitalists are not always the same. Capitalists who own a solar cell factory, for example, are happy about the so-called energy turnaround, but those who own a coal-fired power plant rather not.
Because of such contradictions, there have been disputes within the various chambers and their umbrella organization for several years. After the DIHK president turned against those who profit from the production of electric cars with statements against e-mobility“ in 2016, Germany's highest administrative court ruled that the chambers were not competent to "represent socio-political and labor law interests" or to "make polemically exaggerated statements aimed at emotionalizing conflict." In addition, the entrepreneurs, the members of the chambers, were granted the right to force their local CCI to withdraw from the umbrella organization if it made political statements against their interests.
After years of litigation, a wind power plant capitalist has now managed to force the CCI-Nord Westfalen to leave the umbrella organization because the umbrella organization is against his interests in climate policy. In addition, other members in the districts of Munich, Stuttgart, Cologne, Bielefeld and Kassel have instigated proceedings to force the withdrawal from the umbrella organization.
For German imperialism, this means that an important body for it to represent its interests at the national, European and international level is eliminated, i.e. it becomes more difficult to subordinate individual dissenting opinions to the general interests of the German imperialists.
This is exactly what German imperialism, which is trying to emerge from the crisis as a winner and make the leap to an imperialist superpower, cannot afford. Neither can it accept that its capitalist associations are not allowed to express themselves politically in the sense of their general class interest.
For this reason it is necessary for German imperialism to make a step in the enforcement of corporatism, the economic basis of fascism. Quite openly Peter Altmeier demands this when he wants to transform the association into a federal chamber and thus into a "corporation under public law". The "German Chamber of Industry and Commerce" he wants to create would thus be directly subordinated to the Federal Ministry of Economics, which, together with compulsory membership for all chambers of industry and commerce, would ensure the enforcement of the interests of German imperialism on a national and, as a consequence, on an international level. What the purpose of this measure is also becomes clear when the Federal Ministry of Economics announces that in the future the Ministry of Economics will check whether the DIHK is "within the scope of its competencies" with regard to political statements.