First published: ECIPE Policy Brief No. 05/2012, 05/06/2012
These are testing and indeed unpredictable times for Europe, as we know in our bones, but however things turn out, Europe will doubtless need to deepen its economic ties to Asia. By way of anecdote, I recently spoke at a major conference on the luxury goods sector, where Europe’s major brands were ebullient about the significance of the region, which, for many, now provides between 30-40% of their total revenues.
In the more mundane world of macro statistics, EU27 exports to Asia now amount to over €330 billion, or 22% of total of external exports, and imports from Asia are over 30% of external imports of €530 billion. If we take out the US and other advanced nations, Asia represents almost 40% of imports and 30% of exports. On average, China is roughly half of total trade with Asian countries, with EU exports to that country doubling in the last 7 years……more
