German Economy Expected to Grow by 3.5% This Year - BDI

Photo: REUTERS/AXEL SCHMIDT
Photo: REUTERS/AXEL SCHMIDT
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German Economy Expected to Grow by 3.5% This Year - BDI

Photo: REUTERS/AXEL SCHMIDT
Photo: REUTERS/AXEL SCHMIDT

Germany’s BDI industry association said on Tuesday it expected Europe’s largest economy to grow 3.5% this year after plunging roughly 5% in 2020 but that it wouldn’t be able to return to its pre-pandemic level until next year at the earliest.

The BDI forecast is less optimistic than the government’s estimates, published in October, in which Berlin predicted gross domestic product to rebound with an expansion rate of 4.4%.

BDI President Siegfried Russwurm said the economy won’t be able to return to its pre-crisis level in 2021 due to the second wave of the pandemic.

“But there should be a good chance that it will do so in the first half of 2022,” Russwurm added.

The Federal Statistics Office will release a flash estimate for full-year 2020 GDP figures on Thursday. The government will update its GDP growth forecast for 2021 later this month.

BDI said it expected Germany’s export-oriented industrial sector to drive the recovery this year as the global economic outlook for 2021 had improved. The lobby group sees exports jumping 6% this year after plunging roughly 11% in 2020.

“The election of Joe Biden as US President facilitates the path for multilateral solutions and joint initiatives for fair competition on the world markets,” Russwurm said.



India and EU to Finalize Free Trade Agreement by Year-end

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (L) addresses a joint press briefing as India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi listens, after their meeting at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 28, 2025. (Photo by Money SHARMA / AFP)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (L) addresses a joint press briefing as India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi listens, after their meeting at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 28, 2025. (Photo by Money SHARMA / AFP)
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India and EU to Finalize Free Trade Agreement by Year-end

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (L) addresses a joint press briefing as India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi listens, after their meeting at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 28, 2025. (Photo by Money SHARMA / AFP)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (L) addresses a joint press briefing as India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi listens, after their meeting at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 28, 2025. (Photo by Money SHARMA / AFP)

India will finalize a "mutually beneficial" free trade deal with the European Union by the end of this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Friday after meeting with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.

"We have asked our teams to work out a mutually beneficial bilateral free trade agreement by the end of this year," Modi said in New Delhi.

Von der Leyen, who is on a two-day visit to India with her college of commissioners, is seeking to hedge against souring relations with the United States and said they were "expecting a lot from our trade negotiators".

Deeper access to India's rapidly expanding market was at the top of the delegation's agenda, and the EU chief looked visibly pleased after her meeting with Modi and his ministers, AFP reported.

The EU is already India's largest trading partner, accounting for 124 billion euros ($130 billion) worth of trade in goods in 2023 -- more than 12 percent of total Indian trade, according to Brussels.

The Indian market offers many opportunities for sectors ranging from defense to agriculture, cars and clean energy. Yet, protected by high tariffs, it currently accounts for only 2.2 percent of EU trade in goods.

"We have tasked our teams to build on this momentum and finalize our FTA before the end of the year," von der Leyen said in a statement after the meeting.

Standing beside Modi, the EU chief added: "We told them they should surprise us".

The bloc is pushing for a trade deal that lowers entry barriers for its cars, spirits, wines and other products.

India meanwhile hopes for higher EU investments in areas such as clean energy, urban infrastructure and water management.

New Delhi is also pushing for easier mobility for its skilled workforce and higher investments for ventures in India.

Von der Leyen's visit, billed as the first of its kind to the world's fifth-largest economy, comes days after US President Donald Trump announced a slew of tariffs against both friends and foes.