BERLIN/BRASÍLIA (dpa-AFX) - In view of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's (SPD) trip to South America on Saturday, the German business community has pointed out the importance of the region and called on the German government to cooperate more closely. "Countries such as Brazil, Chile and also Argentina are extremely predestined both for the sustainable extraction of raw materials and energy and for the diversification of supply chains and sales markets," Peter Adrian, president of the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), told Deutsche Presse-Agentur.

Accordingly, the German economy can build on long trade and investment relations. German companies have been active in Brazil, for example, for many decades. A number of well-known names are there: Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Thyssenkrupp, Siemens, BASF, Bayer, MAN and many more, over 1000 in total. The Brazilian metropolis of Sao Paulo, with its millions of inhabitants, is the largest German business location outside Germany. To remain competitive, however, cooperation agreements are essential, Adrian said.

"The agreement between the EU and Mercosur, which has already been fully negotiated, should finally be ratified, as should the agreements with Mexico and Chile," Adrian said. A trade agreement between the EU and the South American confederation Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) would create the world's largest free trade area, with some 780 million people.

However, implementation has stalled. Siegfried Russwurm, head of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), told dpa: "The free trade agreement offers the chance for business to diversify more on world markets to reduce one-sided dependencies."

Chancellor Scholz has set out to broaden Germany's international relations in the wake of the changing times following Russia's attack on Ukraine in order to avoid new dependencies on individual countries, such as Russia and its gas once were. On his four-day trip to South America, Scholz will be accompanied by a business delegation that includes about a dozen managers and association representatives./mfa/mfi/DP/stw