Effects of Free Trade on the German Electronics Industry

A seventh of all German exports are made by the electronics industry. With an export volume of 166 billion euros in 2014, it is one of the world’s largest four suppliers of electro-technical and electronic products and systems and thus directly benefits from any facilitation of international trade. Andreas Gontermann and Jochen Schäfer, ZVEI - Zentral­verband Elektrotechnik- und Elektronikindustrie e.V., Frankfurt am Main, present the results of calculations by the ZVEI, which show that the European Union’s free trade and association agreements to date have regularly promoted German electro-exports to relevant partner countries.