In 2012, the appetite for foreign merchandise ravaged beyond reason the trade balance of economies such as the United States, France , the United Kingdom, or India. The chart shows on the X-axis the 2012 value of the trade balance, and on the Y-axis the percent of the country's trade balance to the GDP (gross domestic product).
In absolute terms, the United States present a gigantic trade deficit of 788 $US billion — a value higher than the GDP of the Netherlands. They are followed by France (-600.8), the United Kingdom (-212), India (-196.2) and Japan(-87.3). When related to GDP the United States deficit reaches 5 percent of GDP, a significant value, but nothing compared with France's 23 percent of GDP. It is undoubtedly quite a problem to figure out a way to fill a gap of 5% of GDP in the balance of payments, but the problem takes giant proportions when the gap has the magnitude of a square 23% of GDP. It will be interesting to watch how French policy makers will deal with the issue.
On the surplus side, the top five nations are : Saudi Arabia (surplus of $US billion 241.9), Germany (239.7), China (230.7), Russia (193.8), and Kuwait (95.0). It should be noted that Germany, China and the Netherlands are the only three among the top 10 trade surplus achievers that do not depend on energy to balance their trade accounts.
Sound reasoning suggests that it is far better to own plenty of goods, such as oil or gas, coveted by other countries than to be destitute. But that entails a sure risk : stocks of oil and gas are not inexhaustible, and the day will come when the pumps run dry. One may therefore consider that it may be advantageous to bet on human ingenuity and develop and produce manufactured goods that other people want to acquire, as China does. The snag is the huge dependence on the purchasing power of the buyers — if the latter cannot buy, the exporter's economy may crash.
The emphasis on foreign trade was the crux of "mercantilism", the economic policy that dominated Europe in the 17th and the 18th centuries, and has been blamed for many calamitous wars and for the shameful colonialist enterprise. In the 21st century we should know better — a balanced trade account is by and large a more desirable goal than even a huge surplus, but it seems to remain unreachable for a number of world key economic powers.
Merchandise Trade Balance as Percent of GDP | |||
Country | Merchandise trade balance | Gross domestic product | Trade balance as percent of GDP |
| Billion current US$ | |||
| Afghanistan ¹ | -5.9 | 18.0 | -32.4% |
| Albania | -2.9 | 13.1 | -22.2% |
| Algeria | 27.2 | 208.0 | 13.1% |
| American Samoa | -0.4 | ||
| Angola | 49.0 | 114.2 | 42.9% |
| Antigua and Barbuda | -0.5 | 1.2 | -38.7% |
| Argentina | 12.7 | 474.9 | 2.7% |
| Armenia | -2.8 | 9.9 | -28.6% |
| Aruba ¹ | -1.1 | 2.6 | -42.2% |
| Australia | -4.1 | 1,520.6 | -0.3% |
| Austria | -12.1 | 399.6 | -3.0% |
| Azerbaijan | 21.7 | 67.2 | 32.3% |
| Bahamas | -2.5 | 8.1 | -30.1% |
| Bahrain ² | 5.6 | 22.9 | 24.4% |
| Bangladesh | -9.0 | 115.6 | -7.8% |
| Barbados ¹ | -1.2 | 3.7 | -32.6% |
| Belarus | -0.4 | 63.3 | -0.7% |
| Belgium | 11.5 | 483.7 | 2.4% |
| Belize ¹ | -0.7 | 1.4 | -48.4% |
| Benin | -0.8 | 7.6 | -10.6% |
| Bermuda ¹ | -0.9 | 5.6 | -16.2% |
| Bhutan | -0.4 | 1.8 | -24.2% |
| Bolivia | 2.8 | 27.0 | 10.4% |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | -4.9 | 17.0 | -28.5% |
| Botswana | -2.1 | 14.4 | -14.3% |
| Brazil | 9.3 | 2,252.7 | 0.4% |
| Brunei Darussalam | 10.1 | 17.0 | 59.3% |
| Bulgaria | -6.0 | 51.0 | -11.8% |
| Burkina Faso | -0.8 | 10.4 | -7.7% |
| Burundi | -0.7 | 2.5 | -26.3% |
| Cambodia | -2.8 | 14.1 | -19.9% |
| Cameroon | -2.6 | 25.0 | -10.4% |
| Canada | -20.1 | 1,821.4 | -1.1% |
| Cape Verde | -0.7 | 1.9 | -37.6% |
| Central African Republic | -0.1 | 2.1 | -5.1% |
| Chad | 1.3 | 11.0 | 11.8% |
| Chile | -0.5 | 268.3 | -0.2% |
| China | 230.7 | 8,227.1 | 2.8% |
| Colombia | 2.0 | 369.8 | 0.6% |
| Comoros | -0.3 | 0.6 | -46.1% |
| Congo | 5.8 | 13.7 | 42.4% |
| Congo, Dem. Rep. | 0.2 | 17.9 | 1.1% |
| Cook Islands | -0.1 | ||
| Costa Rica | -6.2 | 45.1 | -13.7% |
| Côte d'Ivoire | 2.6 | 24.7 | 10.3% |
| Croatia | -8.4 | 56.4 | -14.9% |
| Cuba | -8.5 | ||
| Curaçao | -1.2 | ||
| Cyprus | -5.6 | 23.0 | -24.2% |
| Czech Republic | 15.9 | 195.7 | 8.1% |
| Denmark | 12.3 | 314.2 | 3.9% |
| Djibouti ¹ | -0.5 | 1.2 | -39.1% |
| Dominica | -0.2 | 0.5 | -34.4% |
| Dominican Republic | -8.4 | 59.0 | -14.2% |
| Ecuador | -1.3 | 84.5 | -1.5% |
| Egypt | -40.4 | 257.3 | -15.7% |
| El Salvador | -4.9 | 23.8 | -20.7% |
| Equatorial Guinea | 9.5 | 17.7 | 53.7% |
| Eritrea | -0.5 | 3.1 | -15.5% |
| Estonia | -1.5 | 21.9 | -7.1% |
| Ethiopia | -9.0 | 43.1 | -20.9% |
| Faeroe Islands | -0.2 | ||
| Fiji | -1.5 | 3.9 | -38.9% |
| Finland | -2.9 | 250.0 | -1.2% |
| France | -600.8 | 2,612.9 | -23.0% |
| French Polynesia | -1.6 | ||
| FYR Macedonia | -2.5 | 9.7 | -26.0% |
| Gabon | 8.1 | 18.7 | 43.4% |
| Gambia | -0.3 | 0.9 | -30.5% |
| Georgia | -5.5 | 15.8 | -34.5% |
| Germany | 239.7 | 3,399.6 | 7.1% |
| Ghana | -6.0 | 40.7 | -14.7% |
| Greece | -25.7 | 249.1 | -10.3% |
| Greenland | -0.4 | ||
| Grenada | -0.3 | 0.8 | -38.0% |
| Guam | 0.0 | ||
| Guatemala | -6.9 | 50.8 | -13.5% |
| Guinea | -0.9 | 6.8 | -13.3% |
| Guinea-Bissau | -0.1 | 0.9 | -13.4% |
| Guyana | -0.5 | 2.9 | -17.5% |
| Haiti | -2.0 | 7.8 | -25.2% |
| Honduras | -3.0 | 18.0 | -16.7% |
| Hong Kong, China | -60.9 | 263.3 | -23.1% |
| Hungary | 8.8 | 125.5 | 7.0% |
| Iceland | 0.3 | 13.7 | 2.0% |
| India | -196.2 | 1,841.7 | -10.7% |
| Indonesia | -2.1 | 878.0 | -0.2% |
| Iran ¹ | 39.0 | 514.1 | 7.6% |
| Iraq | 37.4 | 210.3 | 17.8% |
| Ireland | 54.3 | 210.3 | 25.8% |
| Israel ¹ | -12.3 | 242.9 | -5.1% |
| Italy | 14.3 | 2,013.3 | 0.7% |
| Jamaica | -5.1 | 14.8 | -34.4% |
| Japan | -87.3 | 5,959.7 | -1.5% |
| Jordan | -12.8 | 31.2 | -41.0% |
| Kazakhstan | 47.7 | 201.7 | 23.7% |
| Kenya | -10.2 | 37.2 | -27.3% |
| Kiribati | -0.1 | 0.2 | -51.2% |
| Korea, Dem. People's Rep. of | -1.7 | ||
| Korea, Republic of | 28.3 | 1,129.6 | 2.5% |
| Kuwait ¹ | 95.0 | 176.6 | 53.8% |
| Kyrgyz Republic | -3.5 | 6.5 | -53.8% |
| Lao People's Dem. Rep. | -0.3 | 9.3 | -3.2% |
| Latvia | -2.9 | 28.4 | -10.3% |
| Lebanon | -16.3 | 42.9 | -38.0% |
| Lesotho | -1.5 | 2.4 | -61.3% |
| Liberia | -0.6 | 1.8 | -34.3% |
| Libya | 36.0 | ||
| Lithuania | -2.4 | 42.2 | -5.7% |
| Luxembourg | -8.1 | 57.1 | -14.2% |
| Macao, China | -8.1 | 43.6 | -18.5% |
| Madagascar | -1.6 | 10.0 | -15.5% |
| Malawi | -1.1 | 4.3 | -24.6% |
| Malaysia | 30.8 | 303.5 | 10.1% |
| Maldives | -1.2 | 2.2 | -55.8% |
| Mali | -0.8 | 10.3 | -7.8% |
| Malta | -2.2 | 8.7 | -25.4% |
| Marshall Islands | -0.1 | 0.2 | -56.2% |
| Mauritania | -0.3 | 4.2 | -7.1% |
| Mauritius | -2.6 | 10.5 | -24.3% |
| Mexico | -9.6 | 1,177.3 | -0.8% |
| Micronesia, Federated States of | -0.2 | 0.3 | -53.5% |
| Moldova | -3.1 | 7.3 | -42.1% |
| Mongolia | -2.4 | 10.3 | -22.9% |
| Montenegro | -1.9 | 4.2 | -44.1% |
| Morocco | -23.0 | 96.7 | -23.8% |
| Mozambique | -2.7 | 14.6 | -18.5% |
| Myanmar | -1.6 | ||
| Namibia | -2.7 | 12.8 | -20.7% |
| Nepal | -5.5 | 19.4 | -28.5% |
| Netherlands | 65.2 | 772.2 | 8.4% |
| New Caledonia | -1.9 | ||
| New Zealand ² | -0.9 | 139.8 | -0.7% |
| Nicaragua | -3.2 | 10.5 | -30.2% |
| Niger | -1.4 | 6.6 | -21.3% |
| Nigeria | 63.0 | 262.6 | 24.0% |
| Northern Mariana Islands | 0.0 | ||
| Norway | 72.8 | 499.7 | 14.6% |
| Oman ¹ | 23.0 | 71.8 | 32.0% |
| Pakistan | -19.6 | 231.2 | -8.5% |
| Palau | -0.1 | 0.2 | -58.2% |
| Panama | -7.9 | 36.3 | -21.8% |
| Papua New Guinea | 1.0 | 15.7 | 6.4% |
| Paraguay | -4.2 | 25.5 | -16.5% |
| Peru | 3.1 | 197.1 | 1.6% |
| Philippines | -13.4 | 250.3 | -5.3% |
| Poland | -12.6 | 489.8 | -2.6% |
| Portugal | -13.7 | 212.5 | -6.5% |
| Qatar ¹ | 92.5 | 173.0 | 53.5% |
| Romania | -12.3 | 169.4 | -7.2% |
| Russia | 193.8 | 2,014.8 | 9.6% |
| Rwanda | -1.5 | 7.1 | -21.5% |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | -0.2 | 0.7 | -24.7% |
| Saint Lucia | -0.5 | 1.2 | -43.0% |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | -0.3 | 0.7 | -42.9% |
| Samoa | -0.3 | 0.7 | -39.8% |
| Sao Tome and Principe | -0.1 | 0.3 | -48.9% |
| Saudi Arabia ¹ | 241.9 | 576.8 | 41.9% |
| Senegal | -3.9 | 14.2 | -27.8% |
| Serbia | -7.7 | 37.5 | -20.4% |
| Seychelles | -0.3 | 1.0 | -29.4% |
| Sierra Leone | -1.1 | 3.8 | -29.0% |
| Singapore | 28.7 | 274.7 | 10.4% |
| Sint Maarten | -0.9 | ||
| Slovak Republic | 3.1 | 91.6 | 3.4% |
| Slovenia | 0.3 | 45.5 | 0.7% |
| Solomon Islands | 0.0 | 1.0 | -3.0% |
| South Africa | -35.5 | 384.3 | -9.2% |
| Spain | -40.0 | 1,349.4 | -3.0% |
| Sri Lanka | -9.6 | 59.4 | -16.2% |
| Sudan | -6.0 | 58.8 | -10.2% |
| Suriname | 0.9 | 4.7 | 19.0% |
| Swaziland | -0.1 | 3.7 | -1.3% |
| Sweden | 10.2 | 525.7 | 1.9% |
| Switzerland | 28.3 | 632.2 | 4.5% |
| Syria | -3.8 | 73.7 | -5.2% |
| Taiwan | 30.7 | 466.054 | 6.6% |
| Tajikistan | -2.4 | 7.0 | -34.6% |
| Tanzania | -5.6 | 28.2 | -19.9% |
| Thailand | -18.1 | 365.6 | -4.9% |
| Timor-Leste | -0.4 | 1.3 | -27.7% |
| Togo | -0.8 | 3.8 | -21.0% |
| Tonga | -0.2 | 0.5 | -41.1% |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 3.7 | 24.0 | 15.4% |
| Tunisia | -7.4 | 45.7 | -16.3% |
| Turkey | -84.0 | 789.3 | -10.6% |
| Turkmenistan | 6.3 | 33.7 | 18.7% |
| Tuvalu | 0.0 | 0.0 | -67.0% |
| Uganda | -3.5 | 19.9 | -17.7% |
| Ukraine | -16.1 | 176.3 | -9.1% |
| United Arab Emirates ¹ | 80.0 | 360.2 | 22.2% |
| United Kingdom | -212.0 | 2,435.2 | -8.7% |
| United States | -788.1 | 15,684.8 | -5.0% |
| Uruguay | -2.9 | 49.1 | -5.9% |
| Uzbekistan | 0.3 | 51.1 | 0.6% |
| Vanuatu | -0.2 | 0.8 | -30.6% |
| Venezuela | 37.3 | 382.4 | 9.8% |
| Viet Nam | 0.8 | 141.7 | 0.6% |
| Yemen | -3.5 | 35.6 | -9.8% |
| Zambia | 0.6 | 20.7 | 2.7% |
| Zimbabwe | -0.6 | 10.8 | -5.5% |
| ¹ GDP value for 2011. | |||
| ² GDP value for 2010. | |||
Sources: WTO for trade data, World DataBank for GWP data.
