Germany is entering 2026 with trade and agriculture firmly back on the political agenda. As Berlin pushes ahead with plans to deepen free-trade ties with South America, the debate highlights a familiar tension in German policy: how to reconcile export-driven growth with environmental standards and domestic concerns from farmers and industry alike. The issue comes into sharp focus this week as International Green Week Berlin returns to the capital, bringing together policymakers, producers, and international partners to discuss food security, sustainability, and global supply chains. For Germany, the timing is telling.
Trade diversification beyond traditional partners has become a strategic necessity, while Green Week underscores how closely foreign trade, climate policy, and domestic politics are now intertwined. What once looked like separate debates are increasingly part of the same question: how Germany positions itself economically and politically in a more fragmented global order.
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