Foreign Trade : Germany

International trade is crucial to the German economy. The Federal Republic of Germany has always sought close trade relations with other countries and upheld the principle of an international division of labor. This is consistent with its liberal trade policy based on the removal of customs duties and - increasingly - other barriers to trade. By consistently pursuing an outward-looking policy, it has achieved the world’s second largest foreign trade turnover (after the United States). Together with the United States and Japan, Germany ranks at the top in global trade. The main principles governing German trade policy are:

international division of labor rather than self-sufficiency;
global competition rather than trade restrictions; and
reconciliation of interests rather than economic confrontation.
The Federal Republic collaborates with the other Member States of the European Union - and also with the European Commission - in the formulation of a common trade policy vis-a-vis third countries.