International Trade Oppotunitiesnwith the Uk, Germany, and China

INTERNATIONAL TRADE OPPORTUNITIES WITH THE UK, GERMANY, AND CHINA

This assignment is about the trading opportunities and limitations between the UK, Germany and China. This assignment will outline how each country goes about trading, the regulations of trading, and their strategies.

Germany

Germany has one of the top ten largest economies in the European Union. It is a major source of direct investment, and one of the largest buyers of tourism services. Germany's financial health has implications far beyond its' own border: it is one of the world's largest importer. Germany is host of the world's oldest, largest and most important trade fairs. More than ninety percent of new products and technologies are introduced into the German market via trade fairs

Political Structure of Germany

Germany, created by the Basic Law of 1949, is (since the reunification in 1990) a federation of sixteen states, or LÐ'nder. Certain competencies, such as foreign affairs and defense, citizenship, customs, currency, air transport and telecommunications, are wholly under the purview of the federal government. In other fields, such as civil and criminal law, refugee matters, public welfare, nuclear regulation and labor law, the state governments share concurrent legislative power with the federation.

Economic in Germany

Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy - the fifth largest in the world - has become one of the slowest growing economies in the euro zone. A quick turnaround is not in the offing in the foreseeable future. Growth in 2001-03 fell short of 1%, rising to 1.7% in 2004. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy continues to be a costly long-term process, with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $70 billion. Germany's aging population, combined with high unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding contributions from workers. Structural rigidities in the labour market - including strict regulations on laying off workers and the setting of wages on a national basis - have made unemployment a chronic problem. Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets are setting the foundations that could allow Germany to meet the long-term challenges of European economic integration and globalization, particularly if labour market rigidities are further addressed. In the short run, however, the fall in government revenues and the rise in expenditures have raised the deficit above the EU's 3% debt limit.

Environmental Issues

Emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulphur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany; hazardous waste disposal; government established a mechanism for ending the use of nuclear power over the next 15 years; government working to meet EU commitment to identify nature preservation areas in line with the EU's Flora, Fauna, and Habitat directive

Social Status in Germany

Most inhabitants of Germany are ethnic German. There are, however, more than 7 million foreign residents, including asylums, guest workers, and their dependents. Germany is a prime destination for political and economic refugees from many developing countries. An ethnic Danish minority lives in the north, and a small Slavic minority known as the Sorbs lives in eastern Germany.

Germany has one of the world's highest levels of education, technological development, and economic productivity. Since the end of World War II, the number of youths entering universities has more than tripled, and the trade and technical schools of the Federal Republic of Germany (F.R.G.) are among the world's best. With a per capita income level of more than $22,900, Germany is a broadly middle class society. A generous social welfare system provides for universal medical care, unemployment compensation, and other social needs. Millions of Germans travel abroad each year.

Trade opportunities between Germany and the UK

Germany is clearly the number one in Europe, producing more than one quarter of the European Union's gross domestic product. It is heavily reliant on foreign trade, and it is the world's largest exporter and the second largest importer. With motor vehicles and industrial systems, chemicals and electronic devices to the fore, German products are sold in virtually all of the world's countries.

Germany is the world's third largest economy, and as the German population has a healthy disposable income and a penchant for quality, value-for-money products, Britain has a found a strong market for a broad range of products. In fact, Germany is the UK's largest European export market, the UK holding a holding a 7% share of the market in 2001, worth over Ј22.9 billion. Almost 1000 British companies, including all the major UK multinationals, have subsidiaries in Germany.

Britain and Germany's trade and investment really plays a big part in developing the sort of relationship that they have; Continental Europe is the largest export market. Germany is hugely important to the UK, and within Europe, Germany is by far the largest trading partner of the UK. The UK is an important market for Germany too; the second largest European export market for German goods. Last year alone trade in goods between Germany and the UK was worth more than fifty billion pounds: that's more than seventy billion Euros at current exchange rates. The UK and Germany have more than just a relationship based on exports. They have strong links that come from investment in each other's economies. Over one hundred thousand people in Germany now work for British owned companies; the picture is even more striking in the UK. There are over two thousand German companies in the UK, and some two hundred thousand people employed. And that investment is still growing. German companies invest more in the UK than anywhere else in the world, with the exception of the United States. That two way flow is important to both economies. It involves the transfer not just of capital but also of people, ideas and technology. It promotes innovation. It contributes to the growing competitiveness of both their economies, which will be essential if they are to prosper in the rapidly changing world economy.

The UK is the prime location in Europe for high-value knowledge driven investment.

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