What do you consider to be your country's "Zone of Interest" ?

[The Lawspeaker]

I look at it mainly from both a cultural and trade perspective: much of the world really shouldn't concern us at all as they aren't important trading partners (http://www.worldstopexports.com/netherlands-top-import-partners/). Some of those trading partners only bring in losses, so we should either seek to bring back industry to our own country (Japan and China) or look for other suppliers within our zone of interests (Russia comes to mind - it would be interesting to import more liquefied gas and shale oil from Canada and the United States as well as from Norway). In other countries, our trade needs to be restructured and we need to find out what we can produce ourselves or we can buy from other countries (electronics comes to mind, weapons, medical equipment in the case of the United States - in the case of Norway: we have our own very large petrochemical industry so why should we need to import finished products ?) so we can limit our deficits. Others bring in a ton of money and are beneficial for our economy (Germany, France, the UK, Belgium and Poland come to mind).



https://i.ibb.co/znPMf2j/mapmapmap.png

[Jana]

Western Bosnia and Herzegovina until Bosna and Neretva river.

[The Lawspeaker]

Western Bosnia and Herzegovina until Bosna and Neretva river.

Is that just from a political perspective or also trade ?

[Jana]

Is that just from a political perspective or also trade ?

Political and security interest. Trade - with the west and east :)

[♥ Lily ♥]

Trade.

U.K. Trade Exports (2018)

The United Kingdom shipped US$487.1 billion worth of products around the globe in 2018 according to the latest statistics from the International Trade Centre. That dollar amount represents a -4.7% decline since 2014 but a 10.2% year-over-year gain from 2017 to 2018.

From a continental perspective, about 55% of UK exports by value were delivered to fellow European trade partners (that percentage compares with 46.6% going to European Union members). Another 24.1% was sold to Asian importers while the United Kingdom shipped 15.3% worth to North America.

Smaller percentages went to Africa (2.3%), Oceania (1.5%) led by Australia and New Zealand then Latin America (1.3%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.

Below is a list showcasing 15 of United Kingdom’s top trading partners in terms of export sales. That is, these are countries that imported the most UK shipments by dollar value during 2018. Also shown is each import country’s percentage of total UK exports.

1. United States: US$65.3 billion (13.4% of total UK exports)
2. Germany: $46.7 billion (9.6%)
3. Netherlands: $33.1 billion (6.8%)
4. France: $31.9 billion (6.5%)
5. Ireland: $28.2 billion (5.8%)
6. China: $27.7 billion (5.7%)
7. Switzerland: $25.6 billion (5.3%)
8. Belgium: $18.9 billion (3.9%)
9. Italy: $14 billion (2.9%)
10. Spain: $13.9 billion (2.9%)
11. Turkey: $13.7 billion (2.8%)
12. Hong Kong: $10.3 billion (2.1%)
13. United Arab Emirates: $10.1 billion (2.1%)
14. Japan: $8.4 billion (1.7%)
15. South Korea: $7.8 billion (1.6%)

http://www.worldstopexports.com/united-kingdoms-top-import-partners/

Approaching three-quarters (73%) of UK exports in 2018 were delivered to the above 15 trade partners.

Among the top 15 importers from the UK, year-over-year gains ranged from a minimum of +0.1% for Germany, +3.4% for Spain and +4.1% for South Korea up to +13.9% for Japan, +20.2% for Netherlands, +26.2% for Switzerland, +29.6% for China and +43% for Turkey.

U.K. Trade Deficits (2018)

Overall the United Kingdom incurred a -$182.6 billion trade deficit during 2018, down -8.4% from -$199.3 billion in red ink one year earlier.

As defined by Investopedia, a country whose total value of all imported goods is higher than its value of all exports is said to have a negative trade balance or deficit.

It would be unrealistic for any exporting nation to expect across-the-board positive trade balances with all its importing partners. Similarly, that export country doesn’t necessarily post a negative trade balance with each individual partner with which it exchanges exports and imports.

United Kingdom incurred the highest trade deficits with the following countries.

1. Germany: -US$44.8 billion (country-specific trade deficit in 2018)
2. China: -$35.7 billion
3. Netherlands: -$22.1 billion
4. Norway: -$20.7 billion
5. Belgium: -$15.7 billion
6. Italy: -$12.6 billion
7. Poland: -$7.6 billion
8. Spain: -$7.1 billion
9. Canada: -$6.4 billion
10. Russia: -$6.1 billion

http://www.worldstopexports.com/united-kingdoms-top-import-partners/

Among United Kingdom’s trading partners that cause the greatest negative trade balances, UK deficits with Russia (up 73.1%), Belgium (up 9.1%) and Norway (up 7.2%) grew at the fastest pace from 2017 to 2018.

These cashflow deficiencies clearly indicate United Kingdom’s competitive disadvantages with the above countries, but also represent key opportunities for United Kingdom to develop country-specific strategies to strengthen its overall position in international trade.

U.K. Trade Surpluses (2018)

Based on Investopedia’s definition of net importer, a country whose total value of all imported goods is lower than its value of all exports is said to have a positive trade balance or surplus.

United Kingdom earned the highest trade surpluses with the following countries.

1. Switzerland: US$18.2 billion (country-specific trade surplus in 2018)
2. Ireland: $9.4 billion
3. United Arab Emirates: $7.9 billion
4. Hong Kong: $7.8 billion
5. Singapore: $5.2 billion
6. South Korea: $2.6 billion
7. Saudi Arabia: $2.23 billion
8. Australia: $2.18 billion
9. Turkey: $2.13 billion
10. United States: $2.06 billion

http://www.worldstopexports.com/united-kingdoms-top-import-partners/

Among United Kingdom’s trading partners that generate the greatest positive trade balances, UK surpluses with the United States (up 473.2%), Australia (up 150.2%) and Switzerland (up 119.1%) grew at the fastest pace from 2017 to 2018.

These positive cashflow streams clearly indicate United Kingdom’s competitive advantages with the above countries, but also represent key opportunities for United Kingdom to develop country-specific strategies to optimise its overall position in international trade.

Top U.K. Export Products (2018)

In 2018, Great Britain’s most valuable exported products (http://www.worldstopexports.com/united-kingdoms-top-exports/) were cars, gold, turbo-jets, crude oil, medication mixes in dosage, aircraft parts, processed petroleum oils, blood fractions including antisera, alcoholic beverages then automobile parts or accessories.

Technically named the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom shipped US$487.1 billion worth of goods around the globe in 2018. That dollar amount reflects a -4.7% slowdown since 2014 but a 10.2% expansion from one year earlier in 2017.

The UK exported $236.5 billion worth of goods during the first 6 months of 2019, down -3.6% compared to the same period one year earlier.

In addition, Great Britain furnished an estimated $376.2 billion worth of international services during 2018 encompassing about $372.7 billion from commercial services. The focus of this article is on exported goods.

Given United Kingdom’s population of 65.1 million people, its total $487.1 billion in 2018 exported products translates to roughly $7,500 for every resident in the western European economic powerhouse.

The following export product groups categorise the highest dollar value in UK global shipments during 2018. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from United Kingdom.

1. Machinery including computers: US$72.3 billion (14.8% of total exports)
2. Vehicles: $54.6 billion (11.2%)
3. Gems, precious metals: $47.4 billion (9.7%)
4. Mineral fuels including oil: $43.7 billion (9%)
5. Pharmaceuticals: $30 billion (6.2%)
6. Electrical machinery, equipment: $28.8 billion (5.9%)
7. Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $19.1 billion (3.9%)
8. Aircraft, spacecraft: $19 billion (3.9%)
9. Plastics, plastic articles: $12.3 billion (2.5%)
10. Organic chemicals: $11.3 billion (2.3%)

[♥ Lily ♥]

I look at it mainly from both a cultural and trade perspective: much of the world really shouldn't concern us at all as they aren't important trading partners (http://www.worldstopexports.com/netherlands-top-import-partners/). Some of those trading partners only bring in losses, so we should either seek to bring back industry to our own country (Japan and China) or look for other suppliers within our zone of interests (Russia comes to mind - it would be interesting to import more liquefied gas and shale oil from Canada and the United States as well as from Norway). In other countries, our trade needs to be restructured and we need to find out what we can produce ourselves or we can buy from other countries (electronics comes to mind, weapons, medical equipment in the case of the United States - in the case of Norway: we have our own very large petrochemical industry so why should we need to import finished products ?) so we can limit our deficits. Others bring in a ton of money and are beneficial for our economy (Germany, France, the UK, Belgium and Poland come to mind).

https://i.ibb.co/znPMf2j/mapmapmap.png

Below are biggest export-related Dutch companies (http://www.worldstopexports.com/netherlands-top-10-major-export-companies/) organised by asset value in 2018.

(We buy a lot of this in the U.K.... I bought a few Philips products over the last few years... and Edam cheese, etc. Shell stations are abundantly found here for petrol... and Unilever and Heineken are both very well-known here too.)

1. Royal Dutch Shell (oil, gas): US$410.7 billion (down -0.1% from 2017)
2. Unilever (food processing): $72.4 billion (up 21.6%)
3. Heineken Holding (beverages): $51.2 billion (up 21.8%)
4. Philips (industrial conglomerate): $30.4 billion (down -10.8%)
5. NXP Semiconductors (semiconductors): $24.1 billion (down -3.2%)
6. ASML Holding (semiconductors): $22.9 billion (up 16%)
7. Akzo Nobel (diversified chemicals): $20.4 billion (up 16.9%)
8. VEON (telecommunications services): $19.5 billion (down -7.3%)
9. DSM (diversified chemicals): $16.3 billion (up 17.7%)
10. KPN (telecommunications services): $16.2 billion (up 4.2%)

Six of these massive Dutch corporations grew their assets as of December 2018, led by a 21.8% gain for beverages behemoth Heineken, a 21.6% increase for Unilever and a 17.7% asset improvement for international chemicals supplier DSM.

Netherlands Trade Surpluses (2018)

The Netherlands generated an overall $76.6 billion trade surplus (http://www.worldstopexports.com/netherlands-top-import-partners/) in 2018, a positive trade balance that expanded by 37.2% over the $55.9 billion surplus one year earlier.

Based on Investopedia’s definition of net importer, a country whose total value of all imported goods is lower than its value of all exports is said to have a positive trade balance or surplus.

Netherlands incurred the highest trade surpluses with the following countries:

1. Germany: US$65.3 billion (country-specific trade surplus in 2018)
2. France: $38.3 billion
3. Belgium: $24.3 billion
4. United Kingdom: $23.7 billion
5. Italy: $14.3 billion
6. Spain: $10.6 billion
7. Sweden: $7.8 billion
8. Poland: $6.3 billion
9. Austria: $6 billion
10. Czech Republic: $5.4 billion

Trade Deficits (2018)

Netherlands incurred the highest trade deficits with the following countries:

1. China: -US$87.5 billion (country-specific trade deficit in 2018)
2. Russia: -$18.4 billion
3. United States: -$14.2 billion
4. Norway: -$7.5 billion
5. Japan: -$7.5 billion
6. Malaysia: -$5.7 billion
7. Vietnam: -$4.6 billion
8. Thailand: -$4.5 billion
9. Brazil: -$4 billion
10. Indonesia: -$3.3 billion