Trade relations of the German economy in the world space

Abstract

The economy of Germany plays a significant role in the world space and must maintain its position among the dominant leaders. It manifests itself both in terms of the size of the economic potential and in terms of multiple impact on the socio-economic life of individual countries. This idea is referred to in this paper, the aim of which is to present the trade relations of the German economy with other countries in terms of trade turnover. Trade exchange is an important factor influencing the economic activation of a given country. This process is illustrated by the analysis of the international trade exchange of the German economy in 1991-2019. A characteristic feature of the turnover is a positive trade balance in terms of values, and negative in terms of goods weight. The dominant importance in terms of export are products requiring technical expenditure (machinery and equipment, chemicals), while in terms of import, less processed products, mainly fuels, raw materials and foodstuffs. In the world space, there is a very strong concentration of both export markets and import sources. On the one hand, they indicate strong economic ties with the dominant world economies and, on the other hand, seek opportunities for connections with countries with a lower level of economic development, mainly using their raw material resources. In this way, the German economy engages in competitive relations with the dominant countries, both in terms of the possibility of expanding its own sales markets and the possibility of ensuring raw material sources, especially energy and for the electronics industry.