Archive:Switzerland-EU - international trade in goods statistics

Data extracted in March 2020
Planned article update: March 2021

Highlights

In 2019, Switzerland was the fourth largest partner for EU exports of goods (7 %) and the fifth largest partner for EU imports of goods (6 %).

Among EU Member States, Germany was both the largest importer of goods from and the largest exporter of goods to Switzerland.

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This article provides a picture of the international trade in goods between the European Union (EU) and Switzerland. It analyses the type of goods exchanged between the two economies and the shares of each EU Member State in those exchanges.

This article is part of an online publication providing recent statistics on international trade in goods, covering information on the EU's main partners, main products traded, specific characteristics of trade as well as background information.

Full article

EU and Switzerland in world trade in goods

Figure 1a shows the position of Switzerland among the largest traders of goods in the world in 2018. The four largest exporters were China (EUR 2 107 billion, 16 %), the EU-27 (EUR 1 908 billion, 14 %), the United States (EUR 1 412 billion, 11 %) and Japan (EUR 626 billion, 5 %). The four largest importers were the United States (EUR 2 214 billion, 16 %), the EU-27 (EUR 2 060 billion, 15 %), China (EUR 1 810 billion, 13 %) and Japan (EUR 634 billion, 5 %). Figure 1b has some more details. It shows that Switzerland (EUR 263 billion, 2 %) was the 15^th largest exporter in the world between Utd. Arab. Em. (EUR 269 billion, 2 %) and Saudi Arabia (EUR 249 billion, 2 %). It was the 13^th largest importer in the world (EUR 237 billion, 2 %) between Taiwan (EUR 243 billion, 2 %) and Utd. Arab. Em. (EUR 222 billion, 2 %).

Figure 1a: Switzerland among the world's largest traders of goods, 2018
Source: Eurostat (ext_lt_introle) and UNCTAD

Top traders in goods with a focus on Switzerland, 2018 (EUR billion)
Source: Eurostat (ext_lt_introle) and UNCTAD

The imports and exports of goods of the EU and Switzerland indexed at 100 in 2008 for the period to 2018 are shown in Figure 2. It also shows the cover ratio (exports / imports) for this period. Exports from the EU were lowest in 2009 (83) and highest in 2018 (145). Imports to the EU were lowest in 2009 (77) and highest in 2018 (123). The cover ratio for the EU was lowest in 2008 (91 %) and highest in 2016 (116 %) and was 108 % in 2018. Exports from Switzerland were lowest in 2009 (86) and highest in 2013 (178) and were 155 in 2018. Imports to Switzerland were lowest in 2009 (85) and highest in 2013 (175) and were 152 in 2018. The cover ratio for Switzerland was lowest in 2012 (106 %) and highest in 2015 (115 %) and was 111 % in 2018.

Figure 2: Trade in goods of the EU-27 and Switzerland, 2008 to 2018
Source: Eurostat (ext_lt_introle) and UNCTAD

Both exports to and imports from Switzerland increased between 2009 and 2019.

The position of Switzerland among the largest trade partners of the EU in 2019 can be seen in Figure 3a. In 2019, Switzerland was the fourth largest partner for EU exports of goods (7 %). It was preceded by the United States (18 %), the United Kingdom (15 %) and China (9 %) and followed by Russia (4 %). It was the fifth largest partner for EU imports of goods (6 %), preceded by China (19 %), the United States (12 %), the United Kingdom (10 %) and Russia (7 %).

Figure 3: Switzerland among the EU-27's main partners for trade in goods, 2019
Source: Eurostat (ext_st_eu27_2019sitc) and Comext DS-018995

Figure 4 shows the exports, imports and trade balance between the EU and Switzerland from 2009 to 2019. In 2009, the EU had a trade surplus with Switzerland of EUR 14 billion. The trade surplus remained throughout the whole period, reaching EUR 37 billion in 2019. Both exports to and imports from Switzerland increased between 2009 and 2019. EU exports to Switzerland were highest in 2019 (EUR 147 billion) and lowest in 2009 (EUR 84 billion). EU imports from Switzerland were highest in 2019 (EUR 110 billion) and lowest in 2009 (EUR 70 billion).

Figure 4: EU-27 trade in goods with Switzerland, 2009-2019 (EUR billion)
Source: Eurostat (ext_st_eu27_2019sitc) and Comext DS-018995

EU-Switzerland trade by type of goods

The breakdown of EU trade with Switzerland by SITC groups is shown in Figure 5. The red shades denote the primary products: food & drink, raw materials and energy, while the blue shades show the manufactured goods: chemicals, machinery & vehicles and other manufactured goods. Finally, other goods are shown in green. In 2019, EU exports of manufactured goods (83 %) had a higher share than primary goods (11 %). The most exported manufactured goods were other manufactured products (34 %), followed by machinery & vehicles (25 %) and chemicals (24 %). In 2019, EU imports of manufactured goods (86 %) also had a higher share than primary goods (6 %). The most imported manufactured goods were chemicals (43 %), followed by other manufactured products (26 %) and machinery & vehicles (17 %).

Figure 5: EU-27 trade with Switzerland by product group, 2009 and 2019 (EUR billion)
Source: Eurostat (ext_st_eu27_2019sitc) and Comext DS-018995

Figure 6 shows the evolution of EU imports and exports by SITC group since 2009. In 2019, the EU had trade surpluses in other manufactured products (EUR 21 billion), machinery & vehicles (EUR 18 billion), energy (EUR 5 billion), food & drink (EUR 3 billion), other products (EUR 1 billion) and raw materials (EUR 1 billion). The EU has a trade deficit in chemicals (EUR 13 billion).

Figure 6: EU-27 trade with Switzerland by group, 2009-2019 (EUR billion)
Source: Eurostat (ext_st_eu27_2019sitc) and Comext DS-018995

EU-Switzerland most traded goods

More detail about the goods exchanged between the EU and Switzerland is given in Figure 7, showing the 20 most traded goods at SITC-3 level. These top 20 goods covered 60 % of total trade in goods in 2019. Ten belonged to other manufactured products, four to machinery and vehicles, three to chemicals, two to other products and one to energy. The most traded product group at this level was medicaments. Another interesting way to look at the data is to investigate the cover ratio (exports / imports) of traded goods, showing the direction of the trade flows between the two economies. These ratios can be found in the right-hand margin of Figure 7. Four products were below 50 %, indicating EU imports from Switzerland were at least twice as large as EU exports to Switzerland. Six products were above 200 %, indicating EU exports to Switzerland were at least twice as large as EU imports from Switzerland. Ten products were between 50 % and 200 %, showing more balanced trade.

Figure 7: Most traded products between EU-27 and Switzerland, 2019 (EUR billion)
Source: Eurostat DS-018995

Trade with Switzerland by Member State

Table 1a shows the imports of goods from Switzerland by Member State. The three largest importers from Switzerland in the EU were Germany (EUR 42 625 million), France (EUR 17 166 million) and Italy (EUR 10 943 million). Slovenia (20.0 %) had the highest share for Switzerland in its extra-EU imports.

Table 1a: EU-27 imports of goods from Switzerland, 2019
Source: Eurostat (ext_st_eu27_2019sitc) and Comext DS-018995

Table 1b shows the exports of goods to Switzerland by Member State. The three largest exporters to Switzerland in the EU were Germany (EUR 56 243 million), Italy (EUR 26 028 million) and France (EUR 17 832 million). Slovenia (20.2 %) had the highest share for Switzerland in its extra-EU exports.

Table 1b: EU-27 exports of goods to Switzerland, 2019
Source: Eurostat (ext_st_eu27_2019sitc) and Comext DS-018995

The trade in goods balance between the EU Member States and Switzerland is shown in Table 1c. It shows that 18 Member States had a trade surplus with Switzerland. The largest surplus was held by Italy (EUR 15 086 million), followed by Germany (EUR 13 618 million) and Ireland (EUR 3 477 million). There were nine Member States that had a trade deficit with Switzerland. The largest deficit was held by Belgium (EUR 2 999 million), followed by Slovenia (EUR 717 million) and Greece (EUR 197 million).

Table 1c: EU-27 trade balance of goods with Switzerland, 2019 (EUR million)
Source: Eurostat (ext_st_eu27_2019sitc) and Comext DS-018995

Source data for tables and graphs

EU-27 - Switzerland international trade in goods statistics - graphs and tables

Data sources

EU data is taken from Eurostat's COMEXT database. COMEXT is the reference database for international trade in goods. It provides access not only to both recent and historical data from the EU Member States but also to statistics of a significant number of third countries. International trade aggregated and detailed statistics disseminated via the Eurostat website are compiled from COMEXT data according to a monthly process.

Data are collected by the competent national authorities of the Member States and compiled according to a harmonised methodology established by EU regulations before transmission to Eurostat. For extra-EU trade, the statistical information is mainly provided by the traders on the basis of customs declarations.

EU data are compiled according to Community guidelines and may, therefore, differ from national data published by the Member States. Statistics on extra-EU trade are calculated as the sum of trade of each of the 27 EU Member States with countries outside the EU. In other words, the EU is considered as a single trading entity and trade flows are measured into and out of the area, but not within it.

Data for the other major traders are taken from the Comtrade database of the United Nations. Data availability differs among countries, therefore Figure 1 shows the latest common available year for all the main traders. For the calculation of shares the world trade is defined as the sum of EU trade with non-EU countries (source: Eurostat) plus the international trade of non-EU countries (source: IMF Dots database).

Methodology

According to the EU concepts and definitions, extra-EU trade statistics (trade between EU Member States and non-EU countries) do not record exchanges involving goods in transit, placed in a customs warehouse or given temporary admission (for trade fairs, temporary exhibitions, tests, etc.). This is known as ‘special trade’. The partner is the country of final destination of the goods for exports and the country of origin for imports.

Product classification

Information on commodities exported and imported is presented according to the Standard international trade classification (SITC). A full description is available from Eurostat’s classification server RAMON.

Unit of measure

Trade values are expressed in millions or billions (10⁹) of euros. They correspond to the statistical value, i.e. to the amount which would be invoiced in the event of sale or purchase at the national border of the reporting country. It is called a FOB value (free on board) for exports and a CIF value (cost, insurance, freight) for imports.

Context

Trade is an important indicator of Europe’s prosperity and place in the world. The bloc is deeply integrated into global markets both for the products it sources and the exports it sells. The EU trade policy is an important element of the external dimension of the ‘Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth’ and is one of the main pillars of the EU’s relations with the rest of the world.

Because the 27 EU Member States share a single market and a single external border, they also have a single trade policy. EU Member States speak and negotiate collectively, both in the World Trade Organization, where the rules of international trade are agreed and enforced, and with individual trading partners. This common policy enables them to speak with one voice in trade negotiations, maximising their impact in such negotiations. This is even more important in a globalised world in which economies tend to cluster together in regional groups.

The openness of the EU’s trade regime has meant that the EU is the biggest player on the global trading scene and remains a good region to do business with. 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.