After unification, Germany's trade surplus shrank for several years, yet West Germany had shown a dramatically high trade surplus during the late 1980's and into the early 1990's, reaching almost $80 billion U.S. dollars in 1988; by 1991, a united Germany showed a much lower surplus. As of 1999, exports reached $610 billion, made up of machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals, foodstuffs and textiles. Germany's main exporting partners, as of 1998, were the European Union, France, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Benelux, the United States and Japan. Import-wise, as of 1999, the figure stood at $587 billion with the import products comparing favorably with the exports; Germany also...
In 2001 and 2002, real growth was at about 0.6%, but in 2003, Germany "experienced a negative GDP growth about -0.1%; the expected growth for 2004 and 2005 is about 1%" ("The German Economy," Internet).
Thus, it is clear that the German economy since unification has exceeded everyone's expectations which symbolizes the power of democratization and shows that even a country like Germany with its violent and bloody past can overcome all obstacles and transform…
