Brussels, 27/10/2008 (Agence Europe) - In a new report assessing the EU's strengths and weaknesses in the global economy, the European Commission explains that there has been an important shift in market share between emerging economies and developed economies since 1995, along with a shift among developed economies themselves over the same period. In a highly competitive environment, the EU has maintained its share of global trade but the United States and Japan have lost ground. The EU is the world's biggest exporter of manufactured goods, services and foreign direct investment (fdi), but the report explains that the EU is in a disappointing position in trade in high tech products and the Asian markets.
An overview of the report: The EU's trade balance for manufactured goods has sharply improved to a €162 billion trade surplus in 2007; the EU share of the global trade in goods (not including energy) is 19.5%, down 1.3% since 1995. By comparison, the United States and Japan account for 13.0% and 9.5% of world trade respectively, down 4.4% and 4.1% since 1995; two-thirds of EU imports (not including energy) are inputs for EU manufacturing, showing that the EU's export performance is based on its openness to imports; the EU's performance is based on an improving product quality and the ability of EU companies to sell their products at a high price due to their high quality, branding and connected services. The EU accounts for a third of global trade in high quality products, which make up half the EU's exports; the EU's performance in high tech products is disappointing, with a market share of 18%; the EU's position has deteriorated in some emerging high growth markets, particularly in Asia; the EU is the world's leading exporter of services, with 26.9% of the world market, compared with 19.7% for the United States and 6.1% for Japan. The EU is the leading supplier (33%) and recipient (29%) of foreign direct investment around the world. (E.H. trans fl)