European Commission Directorate-General for Trade

Global markets

Europe has become deeply integrated into global markets.

Thanks to the ease of modern transport and communications, it is now easier to produce, buy and sell goods around the world which gives European companies of every size the potential to trade outside Europe.

Workers often deliver their services across different countries within a multinational or by specific service contracts. As investors thrive in a stable, sound and predictable environment, they are looking for investment barriers to be dismantled and investments to be protected.

• Every day, Europe exports hundred of millions of euros worth of goods and imports hundreds of millions more.
• Europe is the world's largest exporter of manufactured goods and services, and is itself the biggest export market for more than one hundred countries.
• Together, the European Union's 27 members account for 19% of world imports and exports.

The development of trade - if properly managed - is an opportunity for economic growth. So EU trade policy seeks to create growth and jobs by increasing the opportunities for trade and investment with the rest of the world.

By working together, Europe has the weight to shape an open global trading system based on fair rules – and to ensure that those rules are respected.

Our success in Europe is inextricably bound up with the success of our trading partners, both in the developed and developing world. For this reason, sustainable development is central to trade policy.