Promotion of foreign trade and investment

The German government's policy to promote foreign trade and investment conforms with the rules and structures that govern market systems and the global economy. The German government supports the efforts of German firms to tap foreign markets by improving the underlying conditions that these firms face, and it does so by working actively to ensure international compliance with multilateral regulations and by advocating the continued elimination of barriers to market access.

Within the government itself, the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology bears the lead responsibility for policies to promote foreign trade and investment. The Ministry works closely with the German private sector to develop instruments for foreign trade and investment promotion and to adapt these instruments to changing needs and demands.

The Ministry also collaborates closely with regional initiatives developed by German industry, such as the Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business, the Latin America Initiative, the Middle East Initiative, the Southern Africa Initiative and the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations.

The Ministry also coordinates the various German actors at the federal and state level who are involved in the promotion of foreign trade and investment.