Overview
- DIHK foreign‑trade chief Volker Treier on Wednesday called for Germany to broaden its export partnerships and to push ratification of free‑trade deals with India, Indonesia and Australia.
- Treier argued that investment typically follows trade and that establishing regular export links is the first step to bringing company investment into partner countries.
- He described the EU–US tariff agreement as providing a short period of planning security but said it required concessions, including U.S. tariffs of up to 15 percent on many exports and the removal of some EU industrial tariffs.
- Treier said President Donald Trump’s trade stance forced Europe to move faster on diversification and that some of the negotiated agreements would likely not exist without that pressure.
- If Germany secures and ratifies the pacts, companies could shift sourcing and investment to those markets, so the coming ratification votes and follow‑up investment decisions will determine effects on export jobs and supply chains.