1. Home
  2. Studies
  3. Factory Europe and its Ties in Global Value Chains
Expertise 1. December 2017 Manuel Fritsch / Jürgen Matthes Factory Europe and its Ties in Global Value Chains

Global value chains have continued to expand over the last few decades. This has made them a central part of many companies’ internationalization strategies and an important facet of globalization.

Download PDF
Factory Europe and its Ties in Global Value Chains
Expertise 1. December 2017 Manuel Fritsch / Jürgen Matthes

Factory Europe and its Ties in Global Value Chains

Gutachten für die Bertelsmann Stiftung

Manuel Fritsch / Jürgen Matthes German Economic Institute (IW) German Economic Institute (IW)

Global value chains have continued to expand over the last few decades. This has made them a central part of many companies’ internationalization strategies and an important facet of globalization.

However, catchwords such as offshoring, bazaar economy and relocation of production have also caused this trend to become a focus of globalization critics. Above all in the United States under the new government, but also in France and other parts of Europe, this skepticism is playing an important role. However, partnerships on the production side offer great opportunities to take advantage of the international division of labor. This applies not only to the inner-European ties in the EU Single Market. Intermediate consumption networks between Germany and the United Kingdom (UK) are also very close and placed at risk due to the Brexit. Something similar applies to the transatlantic ties on the production side. A protectionist backlash against globalization and offshoring would therefore threaten an important source of prosperity in regard to European and global value chains.

Download PDF
Factory Europe and its Ties in Global Value Chains
Expertise 1. December 2017 Manuel Fritsch / Jürgen Matthes

Manuel Fritsch / Jürgen Matthes: Factory Europe and its Ties in Global Value Chains

Gutachten für die Bertelsmann Stiftung

Manuel Fritsch / Jürgen Matthes German Economic Institute (IW) German Economic Institute (IW)

More about this topic

Read the article
Expert Workshop on the Industrial Accelerator Act
Event 14. October 2026 Alexander Radunz

Expert Workshop on the Industrial Accelerator Act

The German Economic Institute (IW) and Frontier Economics are pleased to invite you to a rapporteur & stakeholder workshop on the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) in Brussels.

Alexander Radunz IW

Read the article
Event 28. September 2026 Sandra Parthie / Alexander Radunz

Online-Veranstaltungsreihe „Von Brüssel nach Berlin”: Regionalentwicklung und Industriepolitik

Wir laden Sie herzlich zu einer weiteren Online-Veranstaltung unserer Veranstaltungsreihe „Von Brüssel nach Berlin“ ein. Mit ihr wollen wir in loser Folge Themen aus der europäischen in die deutsche Hauptstadt tragen.

Sandra Parthie / Alexander Radunz IW

Content element with id 9713