VDA President Hildegard Müller regarding Mercosur Summit

"The Mercosur agreement is highly relevant for Germany as a European business location and export country - for mutual prosperity, growth, jobs and also for the joint fight against climate change. Close trade and investment relations between Germany and the Mercosur states already exist since many decades. The agreement would therefore help to further advance the diversification that politicians have repeatedly called for. It is therefore of central importance that negotiations will be finalized now. It would also be an important signal from the new EU Commission for more free trade - especially in times of increasing protectionism. We therefore expect more pragmatism from the European Commission and the member states in the negotiations. The EU should make use of all available options to make the agreement a success. The automotive industry in the EU continues to depend on improved market access in third countries. We must be aware that only a strong and export-capable industry will be able to master the major challenges of the transformation and thus make a decisive contribution to climate protection. Only with economic strength the EU can play an important role on the world stage.

The fact is: Germany is an export nation. In the German automotive industry, around 70% of jobs depend on exports. This is the basis of our prosperity in Germany. In 2023, German manufacturers produced an additional 355,000 cars in Mercosur, mainly in Brazil and Argentina - and 375,000 cars in the first nine months of the current year alone.

In contrast, only 20,700 cars were exported from Germany to Argentina and Brazil in the whole of 2023. Thus there is still significant potential to increase these exports. The share of electric vehicles was 16% - and this share could also increase further with an agreement. The EU-Mercosur agreement would pave the way for great opportunities for both car manufacturers and car suppliers, because the importance of an agreement for the German automotive industry would also lie in the reduction of Mercosur's currently relatively high tariffs of 14 to 18% on car parts and even 35% on vehicles. At the same time, the EU's tariff reductions would open up new opportunities for exporters in Mercosur and strengthen the economy there."