Mercedes-Benz – a globally oriented company with sales, production, procurement as well as research and development in several markets – fully supports free, fair, and rules-based trade. Globalisation – i.e. division of labor on an international level as well as free, fair and rules-based trade, contribute significantly to global economic growth and wealth.
For Mercedes-Benz, the international exchange of goods and services is of high importance as supply chains no longer end at the border. This aligns with our global customer base.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) establishes rules for trade and cross-border investment. Multilateral trade policy is necessary to ensure a free, fair and rules-based trade environment. Mercedes-Benz pleads for the strengthening of the WTO, given the evolving changes in the trade space and the need for certainty in the movement of finished vehicles and inputs.
Trade agreements are an additional important element to facilitate trade and improve economic cooperation between countries. Companies and consumers alike benefit from abolishing tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade as well as from cooperation on standards, investment protection, climate commitments, and workers' rights.
For globally oriented companies, the free movement of goods and the possibility of cross-border investments are equally important. While investments by foreign partners have increasingly been subject to scrutiny in various countries, they are and will remain an important cornerstone for employment and prosperity. Mercedes-Benz operations, from Sindelfingen to Beijing, China and Tuscaloosa, USA require an international-based rules system to function properly.
Whereas trade and investment agreements create the necessary framework conditions to operate internationally, it is also important to consider the value chain holistically, classifying priorities and mitigating risks. In the course of the transformation in the fields of electric mobility and digitization, raw materials have become increasingly important. An active European raw material strategy can help reduce dependencies that influence the sovereignty of relevant sectors of the economy. Mercedes-Benz is clearly committed to responsible procurement of production and non-production materials and services. The aim is to ensure that Mercedes-Benz products contain only raw materials and materials that have been extracted and produced without violating human rights and environmental standards.
As an internationally active company, equal opportunities, diversity, openness and respect are some of the fundamental convictions of Mercedes-Benz. We show this in the way in which we think, act and communicate. Wherever possible and appropriate, we use gender-neutral language. In principle, all the terms selected of course include all genders and identities.
