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Predestined by geography to engage in foreign trade, Belgium owes the exceptional openness of its economy to Europe and indeed to the rest of the world not only to the smallness of its domestic market and its central position in Europe but also to the dynamism and the ability to adapt of its companies and people.
More than 80 % of Belgium’s GDP is derived from foreign sales, which is one of the highest percentages among industrialized nations. Add in the services sector, which is also of vital importance to the national economy, and the Belgian export rate rises to well over 80%. This means that three out of every four people work in the export business.
In addition to being an export champion, Belgium also fulfils an important role as a transit and distribution centre for other European Union member countries.
For this reason in particular and thanks to high Belgian productivity, the favourable terms governing the setting up of companies in Belgium and the hospitality of its people, the country has attracted a large number of foreign businesses, which make a significant contribution to the country’s economic prosperity, as, moreover, do the
1,700 international organizations which have set up their headquarters in Belgium.
Foreign trade: some figures
In 2006, Belgium's exports totalled EUR 294 billion, while imports amounted to
EUR 281.7 billion, representing a trade balance surplus of EUR 12.3
billion. The European Union accounted for 76.8% of Belgian exports, 63.3% of which went to the Euro zone.The main categories of Belgian exports include chemical and pharmaceutical products, machinery, transport equipment, steel products and plastic materials. The efforts of Belgian exporting companies abroad are supported by the Belgian government and the country's regional authorities.
The institutional context
At the beginning of the 1990s, competence for foreign trade and export promotion was partly transferred to the three Regions of the country.
As a result, three regional foreign trade promotion bodies were created:
Flanders Investment & Trade for Flanders, AWEX (Wallonia Export
& Investment Agency) for Wallonia and Brussels Export.
In 2002, competence for foreign trade has been further regionalized. Consequently, the export promotion activities of the above-mentioned regional bodies were further extended.
Their support for exporting focuses on all parts of the world and takes many forms, such as the organization of group stands at international trade fairs and specialized exhibitions abroad, commercial weeks in department stores and in hotels, economic missions and contact days between foreign decision-makers and Belgian exporters, all kinds of promotional incentives, providing information on foreign markets, etc.
At the federal level, the “Foreign Trade Agency” was created in 2002. This authority
is in charge of organization of the large-scale economic missions headed by HRH Prince Philippe, in close collaboration with the regional foreign trade promotion bodies.
The “Agency” will also handle dissemination of information on foreign markets on behalf of the three regional institutions.
Contact addresses :
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