The highly internationalised German economy depends on an economically sovereign Europe. Such a Europe should advocate open markets globally and implementable rules for trade and investments in practice, while keeping its own market open. The majority of businesses believe that the EU’s ability to act against economic coercive measures imposed by other countries must be strengthened. Conversely, isolating the EU and its trading partners or promoting global economic decoupling restricts German foreign trade and, subsequently, businesses' opportunities. Most businesses stress the importance of decisively opposing protectionist tendencies. Trade protection measures need to balance the interests of industries dependent on imported goods against the legitimate need to protect against anti-competitive practices of international trading partners that harm EU manufacturers. Thus, protection measures should be applied in moderation. Early and comprehensive involvement of businesses is vital in every measure. Furthermore, the EU's market access strategy should prioritise reducing trade barriers with trade partners, particularly addressing non-tariff hurdles, like “local content” requirements, preferential treatment in public procurement, bureaucratic approval procedures, or technical standards. Additionally, the strategy could address national notification processes that occasionally incur significant costs during business trips for companies (compare chapter "Comprehensively Addressing Labour and Skilled Worker Security").

The COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s aggressive war in Ukraine have highlighted the vulnerabilities in supply chains to external shocks, underlining the necessity of analysing and reducing strategic dependencies where feasible. Companies have also grown more aware of the geopolitical risks posed by dependencies on certain countries, such as China. However, politically promoting an economic decoupling from these countries should be avoided. Risk management is primarily a responsibility of businesses, which rely on an EU speaking with one voice internationally to represent European economic interests. The EU’s economic security strategy should aim to diversify, de-risk effectively, and open new markets for resilient and sustainable supply chains. Adjustments to supply chains should predominantly rest on commercial decisions. Practices moving towards state-controlled trade are critically perceived by the German economy. With anticipated geo-economic challenges in critical sectors, the EU’s digital sovereignty must be bolstered. This also applies to the space sector, where the commercialisation of technologies offers significant opportunities for German companies. Space 4.0 developments enable integration of earth observation data with traditional business fields, opening vast potential for businesses.

Over half of non-European exports of German companies are solely governed by WTO rules. Therefore, the EU should continue to oppose the erosion of WTO. To this end, a swift reappointment of the WTO dispute resolution body is necessary. Until then, the EU should encourage as many countries as possible to join the plurilateral interim agreement (MPIA), ensuring effective resolution of trade disputes in the interim. The WTO’s modernisation agenda includes timely and fair subsidy regulations, as well as removing trade barriers for health goods to globally manage future health crises. Additional aspects like a WTO agenda for SMEs, electronic commerce agreements, investment facilitation, and environmental goods pacts could benefit German businesses. The WTO ban on tariffs on international data transfers should be extended beyond 2026, and the Harmonized System of tariff codes should be rapidly modernised and simplified.

For the diversification and securing of German economic supply chains, it is crucial to pursue new trade agreements or similar arrangements, such as strategic partnerships, on a global scale. Agreements with Mercosur and Mexico should be ratified promptly, and negotiations with Indonesia and India should quickly be concluded. Further agreements with nations in Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Arab world, and Africa, as well as strategic partnerships and resource agreements, present substantial business opportunities for many companies. It is vital that the EU treats its trading partners as equals. Incentives for partners to agree to arrangements are more important than implementing sanctions clauses. 

Given the increased importance of the Indo-Pacific region for the diversification of Germany's foreign trade, political and trade engagement in this economically strong region is essential. Instead of joining agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) or the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and adopting standards of competing economic zones, the EU should establish its own agreements to deepen relations with involved nations and to strengthen the relevance of European standards locally. 

The EU's Transatlantic Trade and Technology Council (TTC) with the USA can set global future standards. Beyond this, the majority of companies advocate for the reduction of transatlantic trade barriers such as tariffs and the resolution of lingering trade disputes. Protectionist measures and localisation requirements, which discriminate against European companies and pose challenges for Germany as an industrial hub, also need to be countered. Furthermore, the EU should continue to advocate for greater reciprocity in trade relations with one of Germany's most important trading partners—China—to make the Chinese market more accessible to European companies. In light of extensive Chinese industrial subsidies, the EU must intensify efforts to establish a "level playing field." 

In an increasingly decoupled global economy, the immediate neighbouring countries of the European Union are becoming more important. The EU should, therefore, advocate for the closest possible institutional relationships with its neighbours to strengthen the resilience, sovereignty, and attractiveness of the European internal market. It is important, particularly with the United Kingdom (UK) and Switzerland, to re-establish closer ties and prevent further regulatory divergence. Brexit remains an economic fiasco for both sides of the Channel and has complicated goods trade with Germany. The upcoming 2026 review of the EU-UK Trade Agreement should aim to deepen institutional relations in the fields of foreign policy and services to facilitate trade, service exchange, and investments once again.

In the negotiations with Switzerland, which started in 2024, closer institutional cooperation must also be promoted. Switzerland should rejoin the European programmes Horizon Europe and Erasmus+ and facilitate staff secondments. A new institutional agreement is also necessary, one centred on binding dispute resolution and dynamic legal alignment with EU regulations. Fundamentally, as many countries as possible should be closely integrated into the European internal market. From the perspective of German enterprises, quality takes precedence over speed. Close involvement of the business community during accession negotiations is crucial. From a corporate perspective, the comprehensive fulfilment of all accession criteria – particularly the rule of law – is indispensable to guarantee legal certainty in trade and investments. At the same time, reforms within the EU regarding its policies, institutions, and budget are necessary to ensure that the EU remains economically stable and able to act effectively after an enlargement to include new member states.

Trade agreements should fundamentally be designed in a way that makes them small business-friendly – for example, by incorporating SME chapters – and thereby simple for all companies (refer to DIHK's ideas paper for modern trade agreements (PDF, 203 KB) - only available in German). This includes straightforward and unified rules of origin and conditions in all agreements, such as increasing value thresholds for the simplified use of certificates of origin. Furthermore, the majority of companies believe that agreements should be supplemented with robust arrangements on topics like visa facilitation. Otherwise, many enterprises face considerable bureaucratic hurdles when attempting to benefit from tariff advantages. For trade agreements to succeed, implementation must be effective within the respective countries and the EU. Clear implementation schedules involving SME representatives, such as the chamber network, are essential. The goal should be a utilisation rate of at least 85% for free trade agreements. The EU's Rules of Origin Calculator (ROSA) should be further developed, especially to support small and medium-sized enterprises in calculating their preferential origin.

For the German economy, it is more important than ever that European ambitions in the area of sustainability do not become a disadvantage in international competition. Consequently, EU trade policy should enhance its effectiveness in bilateral agreements and avoid overburdening with trade-unrelated issues. The focus should be on anchoring internationally agreed standards in trade agreements. The EU should therefore intensify its promotion of regulations concerning human rights, sustainability, climate, and environmental protection on an international level (WTO, OECD, G20, G7, etc.). In particular, simplification and harmonisation of sustainability requirements should be ensured.

EU requirements for due diligence in supply chains should be implemented based on a bureaucracy-light, voluntary SME standard (see chapter "Corporate Responsibility"). Early provision of guidelines, as well as central portals and tools for reporting, are essential as implementation support. Due to liability risks, impairments to the necessary diversification of supply chains and withdrawal from certain countries could occur. Third countries should be involved early in the development of due diligence regulations to ensure acceptance and practicality.

When implementing other due diligence laws, such as the EU regulation prohibiting products made with forced labour or the EU deforestation regulation, it should be taken into account how businesses are confronted with a multitude of due diligence obligations and documentation requirements. Germany and the EU should work constructively and trustingly, particularly with developing and emerging countries, to achieve greater protection of human rights and the environment.

On the critical issue of effectively combating climate change, global solutions and coordinated action among all relevant CO₂-emitting countries is necessary. Companies simultaneously rely on effective and efficient protection against carbon leakage. The international climate club, a trade agreement with minimum standards for meeting climate goals, should therefore be rapidly implemented in binding form with key trading partners to avoid trade conflicts and competitive disadvantages. When implementing CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism), the export side must be clearly protected against competitive disadvantages, and the administrative burden should be reduced, for example, through an EU CBAM self-assessment tool, de minimis rules, and standard values.