The German economy has high hopes for the free trade agreement between the EU and New Zealand, which comes into force on May 1. „For the internationally closely networked German economy, the new EU-New Zealand trade agreement is a ray of hope in an increasingly difficult foreign trade environment,“ said Volker Treier, Head of Foreign Trade at the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK). Companies worldwide are suffering from protectionism, which is placing ever greater obstacles in the way of foreign trade. The new agreement could help to counteract this. „It removes trade barriers in areas such as customs duties, public procurement, the protection of intellectual property and non-tariff trade barriers.“