Frankfurt, March 24, 2026 – Following the conclusion of trade negotiations between the EU and Australia, VDMA Executive Director Thilo Brodtmann said:

• "The conclusion of negotiations on a free trade agreement between the EU and Australia is another ray of hope for free trade. Our export-oriented machinery and equipment manufacturing industry relies on such agreements to open up new markets and create a level playing field - especially now, given the current geopolitical tensions."

• “Australia is an interesting market for the European machinery industry because the continent is rich in raw materials and the machinery and equipment manufacturing industry needs to diversify its supply chains."

• "It is important that this Free Trade Agreement comes into force as soon as possible. Both the EU and Australia must work on this. Only then can European industry benefit from the trade agreement."

The VDMA represents 3500 German and European mechanical and plant engineering companies. The industry stands for innovation, export orientation and SMEs. The companies employ around 3 million people in the EU-27, more than 1.2 million of them in Germany alone. This makes mechanical and plant engineering the largest employer among the capital goods industries, both in the EU-27 and in Germany. In the European Union, it represents a turnover volume of an estimated 870 billion euros. Around 80 percent of the machinery sold in the EU comes from a manufacturing plant in the domestic market.