Trade interdependency

OECD Observer

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One characteristic of globalisation is the growing interdependency of countries and regions in all areas of international transactions. Take imports. According to the latest OECD Economic Globalisation Indicators, between 1995 and 2003 the share of demand met by imports in the OECD area increased from 34% to 41% for goods, and from 35% to 48% for services. Imports to the EU from other OECD countries remained very high, albeit easing slightly to 71% between 1995 and 2003.

Other OECD countries remained the most important source of imports in the US, too, though far less so than in the EU, at about a third of imports. Meanwhile, the importance of imports from China in the OECD has grown almost twofold, with the US seeing its share rising from 6.3% in 1995 to 12.5% in 2003. The EU is the area least dependent on imports from China. About 20% of Japan’s imports come from China, which is not an OECD member. In fact, most of Japan’s imports come from outside the OECD area.

Measuring Globalisation: OECD Economic Globalisation Indicators 2005 can be ordered at www.oecdbookshop.org.

©OECD Observer No 252/253, November 2005




Economic data

GDP growth: +0.2% Q4 2019
Consumer price inflation: 2.3% January 2020
Trade (G20): -0.1% exp, -1.3% imp, Q4 2019
Unemployment: 5.1% January 2020
Last update: 11 March 2020

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