Recent trends in EU trade balance and imports/exports

The EU consists of 28 member states and is one of the world's three largest trading blocs, along with the United States and China.

In 2016, the EU's total external trade in goods wasThe value of the goods traded in 2016 was calculated at 3,453.6 billion euros. In 2016, both imports and exports showed a slight decrease compared to 2015.
The trade balance fell to 38 billion euros in 2016 from 60 billion euros the previous year, but it still maintains a surplus, and as of 2015 the EU was the second largest in the world in both imports and exports of goods.

Exports accounted for 15.51 TP3T of the world total, while imports accounted for 14.51 TP3T.
Between 2008 and 2016, industrial products accounted for 83% of the EU's total merchandise exports.
In 2016, "machinery and vehicles" accounted for 43% of the total, "other industrial products" 23%, and "chemical products" 18%, while primary products including "beverages and food" (7%) and "energy products" (4%) made up 13% of total exports.

Also, in 2016Of the total import value of goods, 69% was industrial products. The difference with the export breakdown is that while "other industrial products" is the same as in exports, the proportions of "machinery and vehicles" and "chemical products" are small.

The EU's main trading partners

In 2016, the United States and China ranked first and second in terms of total exports and imports, accounting for 17.4% and 14.9% of the total respectively, meaning that the two countries accounted for more than 30% of the total.
In addition, non-EU member countries Switzerland and Norway are in third and seventh place, respectively. Russia is in fourth place, Turkey in fifth place, and Japan in sixth place. Also, from Asia, South Korea is in eighth place and India in ninth place.

export

The top export destination for goods trade is the United States. Exports to the United States fell from 28.01 TP3T in 2002 to 16.7% in 2013, but recovered to 20.8% in 2016.
China follows with 9.7% and Switzerland with 8.2%. Turkey overtook Russia to become fourth in 2015. The top seven countries - the United States, China, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, Japan and Norway - account for 53.4% of the EU28's total merchandise exports.

Import

The top seven import destinations in 2016 were the same as the top seven export destinations, although in different rankings.
These seven countries accounted for 60.2% of the EU's imports, more than their share of exports and more than 60% of its total imports. In 2016, China was the EU's largest source of merchandise imports, accounting for more than one-fifth (20.2%) of its total imports.
Turkey is the fifth largest source of merchandise imports, followed by the United States (14.51 TP3T), Switzerland (7.1%) and Russia (7.0%), with Japan and Norway close behind in sixth and seventh place.

The EU automotive industry

The automotive industry is of great importance to the EU economy and plays a major role in international trade: in 2016 the EU was the world's largest exporter of automobiles, with an external export value of €192 billion.

The primary destination for cars produced in the EU is the United States (25%), followed by China (16%), Turkey (7%), Switzerland and Japan (5%). Conversely, the main destinations for cars imported into the EU in 2016 were Turkey (20%), Japan (19%), the United States (14%), South Korea (10%) and China (8%).

Support through the Japan-EU EPA

The Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (Japan-EU EPA) is an economic agreement between the EU and Japan, which together account for approximately 30% of world GDP and approximately 40% of world trade, and came into force on February 1, 2019.

This agreement is expected to promote trade and investment between Japan and Europe, not only by achieving a higher level of tariff elimination and reduction, but also by establishing high-level rules on intellectual property rights such as copyright and geographical indications (GI), etc. Japanese medium-sized enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises can utilize the Japan-EU EPA to develop new markets overseas.

Regarding industrial products, the current tariff 10% on passenger cars will be eliminated in the eighth year. More than 90% of tariffs on auto parts will be eliminated immediately, bringing great benefits to small and medium-sized enterprises that supply parts to manufacturers.

If you want to start trading with Europe and the EU, use DigiTrad

This time, we brought you the topic "How to trade and export with Europe and the EU: Basics and recent trends."

STANDAGE uses its own trade cloud service to provide "Digitrad", a service that can "completely" handle trade for small and medium-sized enterprises. "Digitrad" allows you to develop overseas sales channels at low cost thanks to the application of IT introduction subsidies. We can also handle small-scale, low-value trade and domestic purchases that cannot be done by large trading companies, so please feel free to contact us.

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