Germany, the Netherlands, France or Poland: which EU market should a US manufacturer enter first?

A US manufacturer deciding to sell in Europe usually starts with one question: which country? The common shortlist is Germany, the Netherlands, France and Poland, and each is the wrong answer for some products. This post sets the four side by side on the things that decide a first market for a small or mid-sized manufacturer working through distributors, then gives a recommendation that depends on what you sell.

Putting it simply: if your buyers are hospitals, schools and city halls, France is the easiest first conversation and Poland the fastest-growing one. If your product needs a logistics hub and English-speaking partners, start in the Netherlands, or Belgium. Germany is the biggest prize but the hardest door to knock on, so go through its trade fairs and dealers. Ireland is the soft landing in English.

The four markets side by side

Sources: US Census Bureau country pages; Eurostat; EF EPI 2025; national law as summarized on our country pages; European Commission eInvoicing factsheets; Cresques analysis of TED supply award notices published September 29, 2025 to September 28, 2026 (see our methodology).

Two cautions. The Dutch export figure is large partly because the Netherlands is a gateway: trade.gov calls it "an ideal starting point for companies new to exporting, particularly those seeking their first distributor in Europe," and Rotterdam is Europe's largest port by tonnage, so not every dollar shipped there is consumed there. And the award-notice counts measure public supply contracts only; they say nothing about private-sector demand.

Germany: the biggest market, the hardest first contact

Germany is the largest economy of the four and the second-largest destination for US goods among them. Its public buying is decentralized across the federal government, sixteen states and thousands of municipalities, but federal bodies order standard products in the Kaufhaus des Bundes, where four central procurement offices pool demand and only suppliers that won a public tender are listed.

The obstacle is the first message. Section 7(2) of the Act against Unfair Competition (UWG) treats email advertising "without the prior express consent" of the recipient as an unreasonable nuisance, and it applies to businesses as much as consumers (details for Germany). A cold email to a German dealer is not a gray area.

What Germany offers instead is trade fairs. AUMA, the German trade fair industry association, says "two thirds of all the world's leading trade fairs are held here." For a US manufacturer that makes the stand, or a visit, the natural first contact, followed by a letter to the managing director. Expect a long cycle, German-language documentation and a trial order first.

The Netherlands: the hub, with a strict email rule

The Netherlands ranks first of 123 countries in the EF English Proficiency Index 2025, and Rotterdam handled 397 million metric tons of goods in 2024, the most of any EU port by Eurostat's count. Antwerp-Bruges, just across the Belgian border, was second with 244 million metric tons. For containerized goods that need stock near customers in several countries, this corridor is hard to beat.

Do not read "English-speaking" as "informal." Article 11.7 of the Telecommunicatiewet bans unsolicited commercial email unless the sender can show the recipient's prior consent, and the Dutch regulator applies it to businesses as well (details for the Netherlands). Open with a letter, a fair or an introduction. Public tenders are published on TenderNed, and best price-quality ratio is the default award basis, so quality and sustainability data carry weight.

France: lawful first email and a central purchaser

France is the one market of the four where a first B2B email is lawful. Article L34-5 of the French Post and Electronic Communications Code bans email prospecting that uses the contact details of a natural person without consent; CNIL guidance treats a company's generic address (info@, contact@) as outside that rule, and allows a named work address only under conditions (details for France).

French public buying is large and layered, but UGAP, the national central purchasing body, offers "près de 700 000 produits et services" that public buyers can order without running a procedure of their own. If your category is in that catalog, the supplier behind it is a company to talk to. The trade-off is language: France ranks 38th in the EF index, and tender files and product documents are in French.

Poland: growth, price pressure and a consent rule

US goods exports to Poland rose from $5.0 billion in 2020 to $14.3 billion in 2025, almost a threefold increase, and Poland produced the most supply award notices of any of the four in our set. Most procedures run on one national platform, e-Zamówienia, and the Prime Minister can designate a central purchasing body for government buyers (Public Procurement Law, article 47).

Two constraints. Procedures are conducted in Polish (article 20), so distributors need Polish documentation. And article 398 of the Electronic Communications Law bans commercial email without the recipient's prior consent, with companies protected as end users (details for Poland). Distributors here are price-sensitive: bring a structure that leaves them a margin after a competitive tender.

Also consider: Belgium and Ireland

Belgium shares the Antwerp-Bruges port, ranks 9th in the EF index and allows a first email to a company's impersonal address (info@, sales@) for an offer aimed at businesses, while named addresses need consent (details for Belgium). The catch is three regions and documentation in Dutch and French. B2B e-invoicing has been mandatory there since January 1, 2026.

Ireland works in English. Regulation 13(4) of S.I. No. 336 of 2011 prohibits marketing email to a company only once it has told you it does not consent, so a first email with your identity and an opt-out is lawful (details for Ireland). Public bodies buy through central frameworks of the Office of Government Procurement. The market is smaller ($19.3 billion in US goods exports in 2025, 5.5 million people), which is exactly why it suits a first test.

A note on e-invoicing

Every public buyer in these countries must already accept structured e-invoices under the EU standard. For business-to-business sales the dates differ: Germany since January 1, 2025 (issuers can still use other formats until the end of 2026, or 2027 below €800,000 turnover); Poland's KSeF since February 1, 2026 for the largest companies and April 1, 2026 for most others; Belgium since January 1, 2026; France for receiving since September 1, 2026; Ireland from November 1, 2028; the Netherlands from July 1, 2030. These rules bind your distributor's domestic invoices first; if you register for VAT in a country yourself, check your position with a tax adviser.

Which one first? It depends where your buyers sit

This is a general guide. The right answer depends on who buys your product and how it travels.

• Institutional or public-sector category (furniture, medical consumables, lab equipment, safety gear): start with France if you can work in French. The first email is lawful, UGAP concentrates demand, and the public market is large. Choose Poland if your price is competitive and you want a fast-growing market, accepting that first contact goes by letter, fair or introduction.
• Consumer or industrial goods that need a logistics hub: start in the Netherlands or Belgium. English works, the ports are next door, and one distributor can often serve neighboring countries. Remember the Dutch consent rule.
• A category where Germany is the reference market: go anyway, but through its trade fairs and its specialist dealers rather than your inbox.
• You want a low-risk first test in English: Ireland.

Whichever you pick, start from evidence of who already sells your category there. Cresques builds a market map from public award notices: for a country and your CPV categories, it shows which companies won contracts in that category, so you can compare the same category across these countries before choosing (see what you get and pricing).

What this means for a US manufacturer

Pick the first market by your buyers and your logistics, not by GDP alone. Then settle three things before writing to anyone: the language your documents must be in, the lawful first-contact channel, and whether a central purchaser already lists your category. Our playbook for entering the EU through distributors and the compliance checklist cover the next steps, and the rest of this series looks at the EU tariff changes, why 2026 is the year to look at Europe, what the US Commercial Service now charges and distributor versus subsidiary costs. Start at /for/us-manufacturers.