Katherina Reiche: A Canada-Germany vision for strategic sovereignty and building resilience together
Recent crises have shattered the illusion that global markets run on autopilot. For countries such as Canada and Germany , which built prosperity on open trade and reliable rules, these events have exposed a new reality: the very efficiencies of globalization have created critical chokepoints, strategic nodes where dominance by one actor can threaten access for others.
We have seen this clearly. The Kremlin’s control of a single gas pipeline turned energy into a geopolitical weapon, and the handful of nations controlling most rare earth minerals essential for modern technology means export bans can cripple entire industries.
Chokepoints have become potent tools of geopolitical power. They allow states to impose costs without firing a shot, making economic aggression a central feature of geopolitics. For Canada and Germany, this presents a dual challenge: guard against vulnerabilities — ensuring no hostile actor can choke off our energy, capital or technology — and leverage our collective strengths to shape global interdependence on our terms.
That is why Germany is doubling down on its alliance with Canada. Both countries are committed to redesigning the strategic architecture of our economic relationship to strengthen resilience. Rather than retreating into protectionism , we are deliberately knitting our economies closer with trusted partners. In 2026, we mark 75 years of diplomatic relations. Today, that trust is the cornerstone of what can be called trusted interdependence: a system of exchange that no single shock or supplier can undermine.
This approach is already reshaping how we secure critical supply lines. Germany’s advanced manufacturing and Canada’s natural resources make us a natural fit. We have learned — sometimes the hard way — that ultra-lean supply chains can fail when they are needed most. Our response is practical: plan together, invest together and build more than one route for critical supplies.
Canada’s critical minerals such as nickel, lithium and cobalt are indispensable for electric vehicles and renewable energy. Yet much of the refining happens in a single country, often China, creating a chokepoint vulnerable to political pressure. Germany and Canada are working to remove these bottlenecks. Two partnerships illustrate this approach.
Aurubis AG and Troilus Gold Corp. are jointly developing the Troilus nickel mine in Quebec, creating jobs in Canada while securing a stable supply for German industry. Volkswagen AG’s new PowerCo battery plant in Ontario goes further still: billions are being invested in Canada to give Volkswagen access to critical minerals and North American markets, while Canada gains cutting-edge technology and a stake in a strategic supply chain.
These are not one-off deals. They are templates. This is resilience by design.
Energy is where chokepoint vulnerability hits hardest. Europe learned the cost of overdependence when Russia weaponized gas supplies. But swift action — from Germany’s rapid liquefied natural gas terminal construction to Canada’s support in boosting supply — helped mitigate the crisis.
The lesson is clear: we cannot eliminate all risk, but we can design for resilience. Our Hydrogen Alliance, launched in 2022, points to this future.
Finance has also proven equally powerful as a chokepoint. The message was unmistakable when the West froze Russia’s central bank reserves and severed its access to global markets: financial architecture is a strategic asset. Canada, as a fellow G7 economy, is a key ally in ensuring this financial foundation of our security remains safeguarded.
Technology and data are prone to being chokepoints, too. A few global companies control key digital platforms and cloud infrastructure. The race for semiconductor supremacy has illustrated how access to high-end chips can be subject to sudden policy shifts, regardless of where those decisions originate. Canada and Germany are responding by developing domestic capabilities and aligning standards. Europe’s EU Chips Act and Canada’s tech investments create opportunities for collaboration.
Together, we advocate for shared rules in the digital economy — from artificial intelligence governance to cybersecurity — to prevent the weaponization of data. It is about ensuring the digital infrastructure underpinning everything from smart grids to banking remains open and secure.
At the heart of our response is a simple idea: the best safeguard against coercion is co-operation. Since the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement came into force in 2017, EU-Canada trade has surged by more than 70 per cent. We have eliminated tariffs on 99 per cent of goods, aligned regulations and opened public procurement. Proof that openness with trusted partners strengthens resilience.
Our alliance also sets standards that reflect our values. We uphold high standards. We champion transparency and the rule of law. We respond with coordination when those principles are violated, whether through trade breaches or aggression. Our commitment to a rules-based order is not idealism; it is a core part of our security strategy.
The Canada-Germany partnership is becoming a blueprint for how democracies can navigate the age of chokepoints. We are moving from being subject to the economic architectures others built to becoming architects of our own. Germany’s investments in semiconductors and batteries align with Canada’s Critical Minerals Strategy. We are identifying overlapping dependencies and tackling them together: co-financing supply sources, coordinating regulations and sharing threat intelligence through the G7 and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
This is how we resolve the great mismatch of our time: a deeply globalized economy in an era of revived geopolitical rivalry. The solution is not to abandon globalization, but to rethink its architecture. As part of the EU, Germany’s strategy envisions a network of open coalitions of committed partners layered atop the multilateral system.
Our democratic advantages, such as world-class universities, innovative companies, strong institutions and public trust, give us the tools to create alternatives to strategic chokepoints.
I hope Germany and Canada will continue to strengthen this partnership, anticipating and addressing emerging chokepoints in biotechnology, cloud computing and energy. And we will keep advocating for a renewed global economic architecture that restores trust by balancing openness with security.
The Bretton Woods order was designed in a moment of peace and built for a different era. Today, we need to update those blueprints for a system that can withstand the pressure of great-power competition. Not by abandoning co-operation, but by insisting on co-operation with those who realize that playing by the rules means enjoying their stabilizing force.
This is a pragmatic vision. It does not divide the world into blocks; it offers a choice: abide by shared rules and prosper together or go alone and bear the consequences.
This is why our alliance with Canada matters. Together, we are constructing resilience as a web of trusted partnerships that removes single points of failure and delivers both security and prosperity.
Katherina Reiche is Germany’s Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy.