Economy

Currency

The euro (1 EUR = 100 cents) is the legal tender for 321 million people in 15 European countries:
Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and The Netherlands.

Go to the European Central Bank for more information.

Exchange rates

1 EUR = 1.30 USD (January 2009)
1 USD = 0.77 EUR (January 2009)

Economic Data

Year	Average Unemployment rate	Annual Inflation rate
2002	9.8%	1.4%
2003	10.5%	1.0%
2004	10.6%	1.7%
2005	11.7%	1.5%
2006	10.8%	1.6%
2007	9.2%	2.3%
2008 (March)	8.0%	2.9%

Note: The unemployment rates of East and West Germany differ.

Please check the German Department of Labor for detailed information. More...

Source of unemployment and inflation rates: German Central Bank

.

Year	GDP (billion EUR)
2002	2143
2003	2164
2004	2211
2005	2245
2006	2322
2007	2424

Source: German Central Bank

U.S. Exports and Imports to Germany

After Canada, Mexico, China and Japan, Germany is the fifth largest trading partner of the U.S.

2000-2007

Note: all figures in millions of U.S. Dollars

Year	Exports to Germany	Imports from Germany	Balance
2000	29,448.4	58,512.9	-29,064.5
2001	29,995.4	59,076.6	-29,081.2
2002	26,629.6	62,505.7	-35,876.1
2003	28,831.9	68,112.7	-39,280.8
2004	31,415.9	77,265.6	-45,849.7
2005	34,183.7	84,750.9	-50,567.2
2006	41,319.1	89,082.0	-47,763.0
2007	49,652.0	94,364.5	-44,712.5

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Main Exports and Imports by Commodity with Germany*

Note: all figures in thousands of U.S. Dollars

Commodities	Exports	Imports
Food and live animals	848,758	712,311
Beverages and Tobacco	337,741	567,341
Crude materials, inedible, except fuels	1,858,159	972,129
Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials	235,539	2,249,581
Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes	17,576	13,650
Chemicals and related products, n.e.s.	8,563,947	15,786,658
Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material	3,334,843	9,596,921
Machinery and transport equipment	26,739,400	54,071,216
Miscellaneous manufactured articles	6,046,398	8,695,756
Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere in the SITC	1,669,645	3,974,233
Total	49,652,006	96,639,795

*Information for the year 2007. (Import Information represents C.I.F value)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

German Business Practices

Business Hours

• normal working hours: 09.00am - 05.00pm
• retail opening hours: German states have different regulations. Opening hours vary. 24h shopping on Sundays is only available at certain gas stations and at other sites related to travel.

Labor

Wages and Productivity

When compared internationally, wages in Germany are among the highest in the European Union and worldwide. Average industry wages in 2005 were 27.9 EUR (Western Germany) respectively 17.4 EUR (Eastern Germany) per hour. Nonetheless, German labor is known to be productive and skilled. German quality is famous throughout the world.

Labor Law

Unions are powerful and large in Germany. Workers are protected by strong labor laws that provide them many different rights. They are much more substantial than in the U.S. Here are some examples:

Ordinary dismissal of workers must be proceeded by notice, which depends on the duration of the time the employee was with the company. It may vary from 1-7 months. The employee may also challenge the dismissal in court.

The Mother Protection Law grants a mother a total of 36 months leave. 6 weeks prior to birth and 8 weeks thereafter are on paid leave. The mother and the employer can agree on a parental leave (max. 36 months), after which the employer provides her with the same job prior to the birth of the child.

Social Security and Health Care cost are equally split up between the employee and the employer.

Average working hours are 37,5 hours/week and annual leave varies between 20 and 30 working days.

For additional information on labor in Germany please visit: Central Office of the Employment Agency

Tax

value added tax: 19%
value added tax for food: 7%
corporate income tax on distributed and undistributed income: 25%

If you are a foreign company looking to register for VAT in Germany, please contact the following institution:

Bundeszentralamt für Steuern
An der Küppe 1
D-53225 Bonn
www.bzst.bund.de
phone: +49 (0) 228 406-0
fax: +49 (0) 228 406-2661
eMail: poststelle@N0SPAM.bff.bund.de

Depending on where you will carry out business in Germany, you will need to contact that local Finance office (Finanzamt). For all office listings please look at the following website:
www.finanzamt.de

If you are already registered for VAT in Germany and want to claim VAT back, please send an email to vatrefund@N0SPAM.bff.bund.de