Germany, which is Europe’s largest economy, is the fourth biggest investor in T&T and will continue to treat the country as a major trading partner.
German ambassador to T&T, Christophe Nicolas Eick, spoke about Germany’s confidence in T&T as a business partner at the T&T Coalition of Services Industries’ (TTCSI) Doing Business with Germany’s webinar last Wednesday.
“We hope to deepen our bilateral relations which exists not only in the economic sector but others as well. It has been shaped by mutual interests with a total of US$4 billion in direct investments in the petrochemical sector. Germany is the fourth largest investor in T&T after the United States, Canada and the UK. The company, Proman, with 14 petrochemical plants in Point Lisas alone stands out. It has been present in T&T for more than 30 years. I remember very well when they set up their first plants in T&T,” Eick said.
He added that Proman employs roughly 1,000 T&T nationals and has contributed more than US$11 billion to T&T’s economy.
“Proman is also a partner using ships fuelled with methanol, which significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions from shipping. We also have other German companies such as the German car companies BMW, Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Audi that are well known here. There is a Siemens Energy, which does maintenance of turbines and transformers. There is the courier service DHL and the car rental company Sixt.”
He also spoke about Germany’s contribution to T&T’s tourism sector, as he noted the German airline Condor has resumed flights from Frankfurt to Tobago.
“German tourists already make up the third largest group of visitors to Tobago enjoying this beautiful island.”
He said there is visa-free travel for T&T nationals who visit Germany as tourists as well as for business travellers.
“This makes it easier to start businesses and connections,” he said.
He also highlighted growing bilateral trade.
“An investment protection agreement was ratified by both countries in 2010. The bilateral trade volumes amount to around $350 million euros annually and, of course, there is room for more. This webinar will hopefully contribute to the expansion of the trade.”
He finished his presentation by giving an overview of Europe’s largest economy:
• Germany has a population of 83 million and is the third largest economy in the world and Europe’s largest;
• Germany has a Gross Domestic Product of US$4.4 trillion which represents 25 per cent of the economy of the European Union;
• Germany ranked eight out of 132 countries in the Global Innovation Index in 2023;
• Germany’s workforce has a population of more than 43 million, which is the largest pool of skilled labour in the European Union; and
• Germany also has Europe’s largest healthcare market.
“This makes it the preferred choice for many international companies preparing to expand their footprint. Germany’s growing market is driven by global trends. Social developments like demographic change and technological trends such as digitalisation are some key examples.”
He said science and innovation in Germany leads to cutting edge technology.
“This is the case in the life sciences sector which comprises a variety of high-tech sectors like molecular, diagnostics, bio-pharmaceuticals and materials such as medical devices.”
The TTCSI’s president, Mark Edghill, who also spoke at the webinar, highlighted the billions of dollars in investment Germany has made in T&T’s economy.
“German companies have invested heavily in T&T’s petrochemical sector to the tune of billions of euros through the bilateral investment promotion and protection agreement between our countries, which has been in place for the past 14 years. We also have an active bilateral agreement on mutual assistance and exchange of information on tax matters and tax offences, which was signed in October 2010.”
Edghill used Germany as an example of how T&T can diversify and expand its services sector.
“We, here in T&T, are certainly eager to learn from our German counterparts about developing and strengthening the services-related economy. Our services sector contributes roughly 11 per cent to our Gross Domestic Product—a figure that we at the TTCSI are determined to help grow.”
He also said that both countries have been working towards strengthening trade and sustainable development in a multi-lateral setting—namely through the agreements between the European Union (EU) and the Africa, Caribbean, Pacific (ACP) states, as well as between the European union EU and Cariforum, and there is hope for a deepening of economic relations with the EU under its Post-Cotonou Agreement with ACP countries.
In terms of development co-operation, he said Germany is working on several regional projects with Caricom neighbours that focus primarily on promoting renewable energies, adapting to climate change and fostering biodiversity.
“For almost as long as we have had diplomatic relations, T&T and Germany have had strong partnerships in the area of higher education and there are partnerships between the University of the West Indies (UWI) and several German universities. Today, the state vocational training institute MIC is working with the Aachen Chamber of Crafts and Trade on dual-system training courses in the field of automotive engineering. Although German support and cooperation in technical-vocational education in T&T extends back to the 1970s.”
He referred to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade, which shows that in 2022, T&T exported roughly US$214 million worth of products to Germany.
The bulk of that came from the petroleum and petrochemical sectors such as inorganic chemicals, precious metal compound, and isotopes, worth US$136.52 million, organic chemicals valued at US$43.51 Million and mineral fuels, oils and distillation products, worth US$33.17 million.
He also showed that in that same year, 2022, the COMTRADE data shows that Germany exported US$152.34 million to T&T.
Among Germany’s top exports to T&T in 2022, there were machinery and boilers worth US$35 million; pharmaceutical products valued at US$25.91 million; and paper and paperboard, articles of pulp, paper and board valued at US$11.15 million.
He described Germany as a “powerhouse” in the services sector and it leads the world in Banking, Finance, FinTech and Logistics.
According to statistics he quoted, for the year 2022, data from Statista shows that the services sector is the largest contributor to GDP for the German economy—a whopping 69.3 percent and industry runs a close second with 23.5 percent; construction is third and generating 6 percent; and agriculture-Forestry-Fisheries the fourth largest GDP contributor at only 1.2 percent.