International trade transactions are as varied as the conditions of supply and demand in the countries in which they are conducted. Examination of the positions of the Federal Republic of Germany and the United States in international trade inevitably points to the multilateral aspects of each state's foreign relations. The foreign trade of both the United States and West Germany was so diverse - in terms of geography as well as goods - that individual trading partners could affect the overall picture only in exceptional cases.

Although close economic ties between the United States and West Germany developed in many areas during the Cold War era, trade was of limited importance to their bilateral relations. Since the 1970s there has, moreover, been a relative decline in German-American trade. By contrast, regional trade within Western Europe and North America has grown, and both regions have substantially expanded their trade with Asian countries.

Transatlantic Partners in a Multilateral Trade World

In 1970, the United States and West Germany were the world's leading trading nations. The United States had already emerged from World War II as the world's export champion. In the 1950s and 1960s, West Germany was able to catch up astonishingly quickly. By 1970, West Germany's 10.9 percent share of total world exports closely approached the world market share of the United States, which stood at 13.8 percent.