German Market Insights

Author - Jack Kiernan-Firth

Date published:

On Monday, 2nd December 2024, we hosted our second virtual Market Insight Event, with focus on Germany. Post Brexit and after the pandemic and Ukraine war, Germany’s business environment remains as one of the most resilient and stable. Germany was the UK’s 2nd largest trading partner in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2024 accounting for 8.6% of total UK trade. It is strategically located in the EU, has a highly skilled and educated workforce, and its advanced infrastructure makes it the perfect choice for businesses wanting to expand in the EU.

The event commenced with Nikolai Masoni, International Trade Expert, NECC, welcoming everyone and introducing the speakers. It was followed by a welcome and introduction speech by Matt Beeton, CEO of Port of Tyne, who are also our sponsor and partner. Key take aways from his presentation (00:00:40 – 00:03:21) were:

  • Port of Tyne is a trust port.
  • One of the biggest in the country.
  • Focussed on green energy.
  • Home port for Nissan.
  • 40% of UK’s tea coming in through the port.
  • Have German customers like TUI, VW and Audi.
  • Partners with NECC.

The delegates were introduced to BCCG by Ilka Hartmann, Managing Director, BCCG. She talked about (00:04:08 – 00:08:53)

  • the support BCCG can provide to UK businesses venturing into the German market.
  • Networking and collaborating with other Chambers to help members.
  • BCCG is the largest bilateral British Chamber in EU.
  • The 3rd largest bilateral British Chamber in the world.
  • The BCC network being a platform for matchmaking.
  • The trade and FDI group that can support businesses looking at expansion in Germany.
  • Factfinding and answering specific questions. Email [email protected]
  • Help/complete expertise in expansion/setting up branch in Germany.
  • Free of charge service.
  • www.bccg.de

We were also joined by Robert Scheid, Director (UK & Ireland) of Germany Trade and Invest. GTAI is the federal economic development agency of the government, like DBT in UK. They work closely with British government in Germany and German government in UK, along with partner organisations, industry associations and Chambers of Commerce. He spoke about (00:09:21 – 00:31:07)

  • the help GTAI can extend to companies interested in doing business with Germany. They can help with – Bespoke market and industry analysis, signpost to BCC and others, market entry support, legal support, funding and financing information, free of charge.
  • North and East of Germany offering great business conditions.
  • Companies entering Germany can be divided into – Finance, IT and Software, Digital Health, Energy Transition, Retail and logistics.
  • Its easy to access all parts of Europe from Germany.
  • Quality of life is great in Germany.
  • Many states in Germany have national level funding available.
  • State level and city level opportunities available.
  • Digital Hub Initiative – startup ecosystem – 25 different hubs accross Germany.
  • GTAI can help partner with German startups.
  • Companies setting up in any part in Germany getting membership with the local Chamber of Commerce automatically.
  • German trade fairs are a good place for networking.

Stephanie Wilson, Import Export Manager, Cleveland Cable took us through Cleveland Cable’s journey into the German market and their reasons for expanding in Germany after Brexit. Key points from her presentation (00:32:18 – 00:42:52) –

  • UK’s largest distributors of cables and cable accessories.
  • Suppliers to different Olympics and Commonwealth games.
  • Germany is the largest country that they have distributed to.
  • It is possible to get clearance in Germany with VAT registration number from any other EU member state.
  • Sometimes, maybe asked for description and documentation in German.
  • Customs office locations spread across the country.

Last but not the least, Paul Harper from Auditel spoke on the very important topic of CBAM and how to navigate it while exporting certain goods to Germany. Auditel has expertise on CBAM and have their own internal template (easier version). Kindly contact NECC if you need help with CBAM calculations.

Key points for Auditel’s presentation (00:44:11 – 00:59:08)

  • Tariff for carbon incentive products.
  • Introduced by EU to address the issue of carbon leakage.
  • UK businesses dealing exporting to the EU have to provide the importers with the carbon emission figures in their production process.
  • Looking at the emissions embedded within certain products imported into the EU.
  • At the moment – cement, aluminium, iron & steel, fertilizers, hydrogen and electricity. Will be extended to other ETS sectors in future.
  • CN/HS codes are the key. Not everything in the category fall under the scope of CBAM. Maybe an opportunity to look at HS codes as more than one code maybe applicable to a product.
  • Default value use ended in June. From 1st July actual emissions embedded within the product reporting is required.
  • Product is commercially advantageous if the carbon emission embedded within the product can be reduced.
  • Need for understanding the carbon emission data of the entire supply chain depending on what was done to the product before it gets to you.
  • If the precursor of the material is a CBAM good then actual emissions of the raw material also needed.
  • EU importer has to report direct and indirect emissions in their country.
  • EU importer will ask for the data from their exporters.
  • Transition phase of EU CBAM runs from October 2023 to December 2025.
  • Only reporting of emissions during this phase.
  • Communications template can be found on the EU Commission website.
  • From January 2026, matching of reporting with the purchased certificates begin.
  • UK CBAM coming in 2027.

The webinar ended with closing remarks by Nikolai Masoni and an update on the upcoming training programmes organised by the Chamber.

German Market Insights