German solar panel company shines internationally EU trade deals lower barriers to trade, boosting the exports of small

Franconian provider of solar technology

• EU trade agreements paved the way for IBC SOLAR’s success in Central and South America as well as in South Africa.

• The company’s turnover in Colombia, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic and South Africa increased by a combined €2m.

• IBC SOLAR would also like to enter the Brazilian market, but bureaucratic obstacles and high customs duties currently prevent this.

IBC SOLAR recently supplied panels for one of the highest installations of any photovoltaic plant in Colombia – on the rooftops of the capital, Bogotá. Orders of this sort have become part of everyday business for the SME. However, the entry into the Colombian market was only made possible by the 2013 trade agreement between the EU and Colombia. Similar EU agreements are in place with El Salvador, the Dominican Republic and South Africa. The agreements encouraged IBC SOLAR to enter the market in the respective countries. From 2013 to 2015, IBC SOLAR increased its turnover in these countries by a whopping €2m combined. In addition, at least five jobs in Germany depend on business in these markets.

”Without the trade agreements, we would not be active in those markets,” believes Jörg Ebel, Head of Public Affairs at IBC SOLAR. The solar panel company would also like to enter the Brazilian market. However, its founder, Udo Möhrstedt, explains: “The climate there is just as suitable for solar power generation. But the bureaucracy involved in import licensing and plant registration as well as the high customs duties mean that we have to decline the business requests that we are increasingly receiving from the country without even considering them. We simply cannot see a way to devise a sustainable market strategy.“

Would you have thought? • Five IBC SOLAR jobs depend on EU trade agreements.

©IBCSOLAR/COLOMBINVEST

EU trade agreements enabled IBC SOLAR to enter markets in Colombia, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic and South Africa.

“Huge bureaucratic obstacles as well as high customs duties make market entry in Brazil impossible. In countries that have a trade agreement with the EU, the opposite is the case.”

Trade agreements between the EU and countries in Central and South America, and South Africa Find out more about the EU’s trade relations with Central and South American countries as well as South Africa: http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/regions/andean-community/ http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/regions/central-america/ http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/regions/caribbean/ http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/countries/south-africa Check out more examples of small businesses that export from the EU: http://ec.europa.eu/trade/stories/exporter-stories

At least five jobs in sales, handling and logistics depends on the success of the company in Latin America and South Africa.

Udo Möhrstedt, Founder and CEO of IBC SOLAR AG

Did you know? • Customs duties on “green” products are zero

per cent in countries such as Colombia and El Salvador.

• One third of jobs in Germany depends directly or indirectly on foreign trade.