AMSTERDAM: Dutch exports to the European Union are falling while large economies such as the US and China are growing in importance, the central statistics agency CBS said. In 2002, 75% of Dutch exports went to EU member countries. This has now fallen to 67%, the CBS said.
The reason can be found in the growing importance of exports to large economies such as the US and China, in particular in mineral fuels and machinery.
The fall in exports to the EU is concentrated in countries which became members since 2002, such as Germany, France, Italy and the UK. For countries which joined the EU after 2002 there is a slight increase in Dutch exports, from 3.5% to 5.1%, the CBS says.
However, the Netherlands remains one of the EU countries most orientated towards other member countries when it comes to exports. Only Slovakia, Luxemburg, Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland export a higher value of products to EU countries. Greece exports the products to EU countries, just 48%, and is turning to Turkey as an important trading partner, according to the CBS. The Netherlands is not the only member country to show a decreasing interest in the EU, the CBS says. Only Malta, Bulgaria and Sweden showed an increase in interest in 2014. The biggest falls were in Lithuania, Greece and the UK.
