Germany's "dual" education system, combining numerous practical apprenticeships with classroom studies, is widely admired in Europe and seen as a vital factor in Germany's export success.

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Moreover, German export success for the past decade has been built on the weaker, more competitive exchange rate that came with sharing a currency with southern Europe.

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They have helped 5, 500 companies complete some export success stories.

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Cinema has also been a major export success and is one of the few of India's products which is a global brand across Asia and Africa and increasingly Europe and America.

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Do I want to see more export success.

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Both are determined to defend Germany's export success.

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Mr Harcourt believes the key to export success is to target the surging middle class demand for cars in Asia and the Middle East, while providing components to the global supply chain and developing environmental technology for greater fuel efficiencies.

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The success of German-based firms in Asia's export markets has benefited suppliers in eastern Europe, notes Gillian Edgeworth, of UniCredit.

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It will point out - as I have pointed out on Newsnight, in my report from Lincoln last month - that there are pockets of success where industry has oriented itself to high-tech, export-led growth.

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