ANALYSIS
Developing Nations Key Suppliers: the European Union Stands Out1
(Developing nations imports - % total from EU and U.S.)
Central/Eastern Europe
Middle East and North Africa
CIS*
EU
62.7%
24.6%
35.0%
U.S.
2.9%
7.9%
4.2%
*CIS = Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Mongolia, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,
Ukraine and Uzbekistan
1 Source: International Monetary Fund, Data for 2012;
of the best commercial opportunities in the world.
Continuous EU enlargement means bigger market opportunities, resources (including a large pool
of skilled and low-cost labor) as well as access to
an expanding consumer base. In fact, roughly 14%
of corporate America’s European workforce is now
based in central and eastern Europe, up from virtually zero a few decades ago. While the share of
U.S investment in many eastern European countries remains small, the percentages mask the
ever-expanding presence of American companies in
Europe’s eastern periphery. Thanks to many variables
– greater employment, rising incomes, and most of
all, pent up demand for western goods and services
after decades of denial consumerism —as measured
by personal consumption expenditures, has soared
over past decade in Europe’s periphery, creating entirely new markets for U.S. goods and services. The
personal consumption in central and Eastern Europe
doubled between 1990 and 2005 and nearly doubled
again by 2012, when expenditures totaled an impressive $2.6 trillion.
2014 Board of Directors Elections
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