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Foreign Trade in Figures

Dutch prosperity has always been based on its international trade, and the geographic location of the country makes it a European trade hub, with Rotterdam being the largest European port and the third-largest in the world, handling over 465 million tons of cargo annually. With high-tech industries and services, foreign trade is one of the main pillars of the Dutch economy, representing an impressive 166% of GDP (World Bank – latest data available), one of the most open and outward-oriented economies in the world. According to data by CBS, 23% of exports in 2023 comprised machinery and equipment; followed by manufactured goods (20%), mineral fuels (18%), chemical products (16%), and food and beverages (13%).  The country is also a major exporter of flowers and plants, with the horticulture sector being a significant contributor to the Dutch economy. Most of the sales are re-exportations as the country plays the role of a European trade hub; therefore, the same product categories led imports (machinery, manufactured goods and mineral fuels accounted for 22% of imports each).

As data by CBS show, Germany was the main destination in 2023, accounting for 22.7% of total exports, followed by Belgium (11.6%), France (8.1%), the UK (6.3%), and the U.S. (5.1%). Imports came chiefly from Germany (16.8%), the U.S. (10.4%), Belgium (10.2%), China (8.4%), and the UK (5.1%). On 1 September 2023, new export control measures were introduced for advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment, requiring national authorization for certain exports. These controls were expanded on 7 September 2024 to cover additional types of equipment.

The country has a structurally positive trade balance for goods and services, which stood at around 11.2% of GDP for 2023, according to the World Bank. After the unprecedentedly high import and export values registered in 2022 – which were due to an increase in energy prices – 2023 was also positive, with exports totalling USD 934.5 billion against USD 842 billion in imports. Concerning commercial services, exports stood at USD 316.9 billion (up by 10.1% y-o-y) and imports at USD 297.1 billion (+10% - data by WTO). According to the latest figures from the National Statistical Office, export volumes declined by 0.3% year-on-year in the first half of 2024, while imports fell by 2.5%.