Pien Yu-yuan, Professor of the Department of International Trade at National Taiwan University, notes that West Germany has avoided being a target for trade retaliation despite having the world's largest trade surplus because of diversification.
「為什麼西德的國際貿易順差高居世界第一，卻沒有國家向他們抗議？」台灣大學國貿系教授邊裕淵認為：「那是因為德國的產品類別和市場都很分散。