Use of imports in the Dutch economy

Authors: Nieke Aerts, Timon Bohn, Sarah Creemers, Tom Notten, Manon Weusten

By operating in global value chains, the Netherlands is strongly connected to foreign countries. The Netherlands usually plays an important role as a link in global trade, and especially in intra-regional trade within the single market. This chapter looks at the origin and composition of Dutch import flows in 2021. What happens to imports of goods and services in the Netherlands? Are they used within Dutch production processes or do they leave our country again without further processing? Dutch firms typically import many goods and services that are (more efficiently) produced abroad or they cannot produce themselves. A significant proportion of these goods and services appear to be essential for (competitive) exports. Finally, how large is the footprint of all Dutch imports and in which continent is most of this footprint generated?

7.1Key findings

• In 2021, the total import value of goods and services amounted to €622.7bn, of which €485.8bn was related to goods and €136.9bn to services. This was 5.3% higher than in pre-pandemic year 2019. Imports of goods recovered strongly, while imports of services fell further.
• The Netherlands play an important role in European intra-regional trade. A large part of imports that are processed in exports (€38.5bn, representing 22.5% of total intermediate imports) came from within the EU-27 and went to the same or another EU-27 country. Much of the trade still takes place within the EU, but noticeably less than before Brexit.

Distribution of goods imports

• About half of goods imports (€243.4bn) in 2021 were destined for re-exports, and this share has been increasing in recent years. Goods imports directly for domestic expenditure had a value of €69.1bn in 2021, 1.6% more than in 2019. Intermediate goods imports amounted to €173.3bn in 2021: 36% of this was further processed by Dutch enterprises into goods or services that are sold on the domestic market and 64% ends up abroad after processing in the Netherlands. Intermediate goods imports are 12% higher than their pre-pandemic level in 2019.
• In 2021, electrical appliances were the most important category of goods imported for the purpose of re-exports. Crude oil and petroleum products were the largest category of intermediate goods imports: 84% were further processed into exported goods or services. Imports of goods for domestic expenditure were dominated by vehicles and computers.
• Imported goods for the purpose of re-exports in 2021 mainly came from Germany and China. Germany and Belgium were the largest import partners for intermediate goods imports and imports for domestic expenditure.

Distribution of service imports

• Nearly 4% of services imports (€5.5bn) in 2021 was destined for re-exports. Services imports directly destined for domestic expenditure had a value of €18.2bn, 32.1% less than in 2019. Intermediate services imports amounted to €113.3bn in 2021. 38% of this was further processed by Dutch enterprises into goods or services that are sold on the domestic market and 62% ends up abroad after processing in the Netherlands. Intermediate services imports are 8% below the pre-pandemic (2019) level.
• Business services was the largest category of intermediate services imports, with 61% further processed into exported goods or services. Services imports directly destined for domestic expenditure amounted to €4.7bn in ICT services and €4.3bn in business services.
• For intermediary services imports, the US and the UK were the most important import partners. Services intended for domestic expenditure mainly came from Germany and the US.

Unravelling export-related imports

• In 2021, a total of €33.1bn in imports of raw materials and mineral fuels and €16.9bn in industrial products were needed to realise exports.
• There is a high degree of dependence on the EU-27 for imports incorporated into exports where it concerns industrial products (69% from EU-27), chemical products (66%) and machinery and transport equipment (62%).
• In 2021, a total of €22.6bn in imports of business services and €11.4bn in transport services were needed to realise exports.
• Half of the imported services came from the EU-27 in 2021, an increase compared to 2020. The increased EU importance is mainly due to the sharp contraction of imported royalties from the US in 2021.

Footprint of Dutch imports

• The total GHG footprint of imports in 2021 was 441 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalents, slightly more than in 2019. The footprint of goods imports is almost fifteen times larger than that of services imports.
• Almost half of the import footprint is related to re-exports; services imports play a very minor role. Intermediate imports constitute 45% of the total greenhouse gas footprint of imports. The remaining 10% of the greenhouse gas footprint of imports is accounted for by imports for domestic expenditure.
• With 189 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalents (43% of the total), most of the import footprint is generated in Europe. Asia and the Americas follow with 30% and 15% respectively. Almost 60% of the total import value comes from Europe, which is considerably more than the share of the greenhouse gas footprint that is generated in Europe. The reverse is true for imports from Asia and Africa.
• Africa’s import footprint mostly consists of methane, whereas this is CO₂ for Asia, Europe and the Americas.
• Energy supply, agriculture, mining and quarrying were the foreign industries that contributed the most to the Dutch import footprint in 2021.

Outline

In section 7.2, we describe the destination of Dutch imports of goods and services in 2021. Which imports are directly intended to be consumed in the Netherlands and which part leaves the country virtually unprocessed as re-exports? Which imports are used within Dutch production processes? Section 7.3 provides more details on the composition and origin of goods imports, while section 7.4 does the same for services imports. The importance of imports for Dutch exports is discussed in section 7.5. Section 7.6 further discusses the origin and composition of import flows processed for exports. Imports associated with exports are further unravelled in section 7.7. Section 7.8 finally examines the greenhouse gas footprint of Dutch imports in 2021. Does the footprint of imports differ between the various destinations of imports? Where has the GHG footprint of Dutch imports been generated? For more information on the data sources and methods used, we refer to section 7.9.

7.2How imports are used

This section gives a description of the destination of goods and services imported into the Netherlands in 2021. What exactly happens with the goods that enter the Netherlands? Which part of the imported goods is directly intended to be consumed or invested? And which part of Dutch imports consists of raw materials, semi-finished products and support services used in production processes of Dutch enterprises? Also, what happens with these processed imports of goods and services? Are they sold in the domestic market or exported abroad? And which types of imported goods leave the country virtually unprocessed as re-exports? The year 2021 was characterised by the partial recovery from the coronavirus crisis of 2020. For a meaningful comparison, the figures are therefore compared not only with the COVID year 2020, but also with 2019, the last year before the crisis.

Goods imports recovered strongly, while services imports fell further

The import value of goods and services amounted to €622.7 billion in 2021 (Table 7.2.3), which was €79.5 billion or 14.6% higher than in the pandemic year 2020 (Table 7.2.2). Adjusted for price inflation, the imported volume of goods and services grew by 4.0% in 2021. Compared to 2019, the import value of goods and services jumped €31.3 billion, which is an increase of 5.3% (Table 7.2.1). Relative to 2019, the volume of imports of goods and services was still down by 0.9% in 2021. In 2021, €485.8 billion of the total import value of €622.7 billion related to the imports of goods. The value of goods imports rose by €88.3 billion, or 22.2%, compared to 2020. Compared to the pre-pandemic year 2019, the increase of the value of goods imports amounted to €55.6 billion, or, put differently, 12.9%. Services imports had a value of €136.9 billion in 2021, which was €8.8 billion less than in 2020 and €24.3 billion less than in 2019. The decline in services imports compared to 2020 was 6% and compared to 2019, the contraction was 15.1%. In 2017 and 2018 as well, the value of services imports was higher than in 2021.

Share of imports for the purpose of re-exports in total imports continues to rise

Table 7.2.3 and the infographic at the beginning of this chapter show that a considerable proportion of goods imports leaves the country again in a virtually unprocessed form as re-exports. About half of goods imports were destined for re-exports, and this share has been increasing in recent years. An example of imports for the purpose of re-exports is soybeans imported from Brazil by a Dutch wholesaler and then exported to Germany without any processing taking place (CBS, 2022a). Most of the goods imports from Asia are destined for re-exports to the European hinterland (Franssen et al., 2020). Representing 1% of total imports of goods and services, services imports for the purpose of re-exports are significantly smaller than goods imports for the purpose of re-exports (39% share). Re-exports of services consist mostly of royalty and licence payments to Special Purpose Entities (SPEs) registered in the Netherlands that manage intellectual property rights and transfer the payments they collect directly to parent companies abroad (Mellens, 2011; CBS, 2016).

	Imports for domestic consumption			Imports directly destined for foreign market (re-exports)	Total
	imports for intermediate consumption		imports directly destined for domestic consumption
	domestic consumption	exports
	€bn
Goods imports	54.1	101.0	68.0	207.1	430.2
Services imports	41.9	81.4	26.8	11.1	161.2
Total	95.9	182.3	94.8	218.2	591.4

	Imports for domestic consumption			Imports directly destined for foreign market (re-exports)	Total
	imports for intermediate consumption		imports directly destined for domestic consumption
	domestic consumption	exports
	€bn
Goods imports	50.8	86.9	62.9	196.8	397.5
Services imports	42.2	78.7	16.2	8.7	145.7
Total	92.9	165.6	79.2	205.5	543.2

	Imports for domestic consumption			Imports directly destined for foreign market (re-exports)	Total
	imports for intermediate consumption		imports directly destined for domestic consumption
	domestic consumption	exports
	€bn
Goods imports	61.8	111.5	69.1	243.4	485.8
Services imports	42.5	70.8	18.2	5.5	136.9
Total	104.3	182.3	87.2	248.9	622.7

Services imports intended for direct consumption significantly lower than pre-COVID-19

In addition to imports for the purpose of re-exports, the import flow of goods and services intended for direct domestic expenditure is also not subject to any significant processing by Dutch enterprises. In 2021, €87.2 billion worth of goods and services were imported that were directly consumed by Dutch households, government organisations and enterprises in the form of investments in fixed assets. Direct imports of goods intended for domestic expenditure had a value of €69.1 billion in 2021. This import flow rose by €6.2 billion, or 9.9%, compared to 2020. The increase relative to 2019 was equal to 1.6%. A bottle of cognac produced and bottled in France is an example of an import intended directly for Dutch households. A piece of agricultural machinery imported from the United States by a Dutch agribusiness, however, also falls into the category of imports intended directly for domestic expenditure (investments in fixed assets). Imports of services intended for direct domestic expenditure amounted to €18.2 billion in 2021, which is still €8.6 billion less than in 2019. Expenditure by Dutch tourists abroad makes up the majority of imports in this category.

Intermediate import value back to 2019 levels

Approximately 46% of imported goods and services were intended for further processing by Dutch enterprises. These imports are referred to as intermediate imports and amounted to €286.6 billion in 2021. Intermediate imports can be subdivided into intermediate imports of goods and intermediate imports of services (Table 7.2.3). Intermediate imports are further processed by Dutch enterprises into goods or services that are sold on the domestic market or exported. In 2021, 63.6% of the intermediate imports were processed into goods or services that were sold abroad. Imports intended for processing in exports grew by €16.7 billion, or 10.1%, in 2021 and was virtually the same in 2021 as in 2019. Examples of goods imports incorporated in Dutch exports are semiconductors and microchips imported from Malaysia. Sections 7.5–7.7 further explore these import flows that are incorporated in exports.

Intermediate imports incorporated in goods and services sold on the domestic market amounted to €104.3 billion, of which €61.8 billion in goods and €42.5 billion in services. Coal from Australia is an example of an intermediate import destined partly for the domestic market. Energy companies use this coal to generate electricity, which is then used in the Dutch food products industry to manufacture food for Dutch households. Dutch enterprises in wholesale trade that hire foreign transport companies for land transportation are an example of imported services that are incorporated in services for the domestic market.

7.3Composition and origin of goods imports

Figure 7.3.1 shows that crude oil and petroleum products again proved to be the most important import category in 2021. Compared to 2020, the imports of these types of goods increased by €18.1 billion, or 55.4%. This sharp rise was caused by an increase in oil prices due to the recovery in fuel demand. Imported crude oil and petroleum products are intended principally for re-exports or further processing in Dutch exports. Crude oil and petroleum products also have the largest import value in the flow of goods imports for further processing for domestic expenditure. The second largest category is electrical appliances, with an import value of €31.4 billion. A total of 68.2% were intended for re-exports. Compared to 2020, imports of electrical appliances grew by 17.6%. Computers and office machines are third in the ranking of goods imports. Another striking development is the increase of imports of organic chemicals by €5.3 billion or 54.1%. Imports of iron and steel also increased by more than 50%. Imported iron and steel is mainly further processed by Dutch enterprises.

Show datatable7.3.1 Destination of goods imports by goods category, top 10, 2021* (bn euros)Hide datatable7.3.1 Destination of goods imports by goods category, top 10, 2021* (bn euros)

7.3.1 Destination of goods imports by goods category, top 10, 2021* (bn euros)

Goederencategorie	Intermediate imports processed for domestic consumption	Intermediate imports processed for exports	Direct imports for domestic consumption	Imports for re-exports
Crude oil and petroleum products	4.8	25.9	1.1	18.9
Electrical appliances, n.e.c.	3.5	3.4	3.2	21.4
Computers and office machines	1.2	1.3	4.7	18.0
Road transport vehicles	1.3	2.9	13.4	5.8
Miscellaneous manufactures, n.e.c.	2.8	2.2	3.8	14.4
Telecommunications equipment	0.8	0.4	3.5	16.6
Medicinal and pharmaceutical products	3.1	0.9	2.6	11.3
Various machines, n.e.c.	1.4	1.9	3.8	9.0
Scientific and professional instruments and devices, n.e.c.	0.6	1.1	1.3	12.5
Organic chemicals	0.5	5.9	0.0	8.6

Electrical appliances most important category of goods imported for re-exports

Imports for the purpose of re-exports, amounting to €243.4 billion, represented the main import flow entering the Netherlands in 2021 (Table 7.2.3). The largest product group in this category consisted of electrical appliances. Imports for the purpose of re-exports in this product group amounted to €21.4 billion, an increase of €3.3 billion compared to 2020. The second largest product group imported for the purpose of re-exports were crude oil and petroleum products. Office machines come third. Natural gas imported for the purpose of re-exports increased by €3.8 billion in 2021, more than tripling compared to 2020.

Import value destined for intermediate consumption exceeding pre-crisis levels

Intermediate services imports represented a value of €173.3 billion in 2021, which was €35.6 billion higher than in 2020. Also, goods imports for intermediate consumption were over €18 billion higher than in 2019. Imports of crude oil and petroleum products for intermediate consumption was by far the largest category in intermediate goods imports at €30.7 billion, of which imports to the value of €25.9 billion were further incorporated in exported goods and services. Examples of intermediate imports of petroleum and petroleum products are crude oil that is refined into petroleum products, but also serves as a raw material for the manufacturing of plastics. Fuels such as marine diesel oil and jet fuel are also covered by the intermediate imports of this category. Imports of chemical products for intermediate consumption amounted to €18.9 billionnoot1, 70.4% of which were used in production processes aimed at exports. €6.9 billion worth of iron and steel were imported for intermediate consumption, an increase of 60% compared to 2020. This increase can be attributed to the sharp rise in iron and steel prices.

Imports for direct consumption in the Netherlands dominated by vehicles and computers

Imports intended for direct domestic expenditure in 2021, amounting to €69.1 billion, were significantly smaller than the two import flows discussed above. Among these imports, the largest product category comprised road vehicles (including spare parts and accessories), with an import value of €13.4 billion. This import flow accounted for 57.3% of total imports of road vehicles, which means that over half of the road vehicles, such as passenger cars and motorcycles, were thus intended directly for Dutch consumers or business operators. In addition to road vehicles, more than half of the imports of other transport equipment (including aircraft, ships and boats) and furniture and accessories are intended for direct domestic expenditure.

Imports of computers and office machines for direct domestic consumption amounted to €4.7 billion, which is an increase of €0.4 billion. Other product categories with an import value of at least €3 billion intended for direct domestic consumption were miscellaneous manufactures, various machinery, telecommunications equipment, furniture and clothing.

Table 7.3.2 shows what ultimately happens to goods imports from particular countries. With an amount of €82.5 billion, Germany is the most important trading partner for goods imports, followed by China and Belgium. The EU internal market accounted for 46.2% of total goods imports into the Netherlands. Imports from EU countries intended for further processing by Dutch enterprises amounted to €78.1 billion, accounting for 45.0% of total intermediate goods imports. Although there was a slight decrease in the EU-27’s share in 2021 compared to 2020, there seems to be an upward trend in the EU-27’s share of Dutch intermediate goods imports, especially as it exceeds 2019 by 4.5 percentage points in 2021.

	Imports for domestic consumption			Imports directly destined for foreign market (re-exports)	Total
	imports for intermediate consumption		imports directly destined for domestic consumption
	domestic consumption	exports
Countries and groups of countries	€bn
Germany	13.2	17.7	15.2	36.4	82.5
Belgium	7.6	11.5	7.7	19.9	46.7
Other EU-27	12.5	15.6	15.5	51.7	95.2
United Kingdom	2.9	6.4	2.4	12.3	24.0
Ukraine	0.4	0.9	0.0	0.5	1.8
Russia	2.2	7.5	0.6	4.6	14.8
Other Europe	3.0	5.1	2.4	11.0	21.5
United States	3.1	7.1	3.3	21.2	34.7
Other America	1.7	4.2	1.3	11.1	18.3
China	4.4	4.0	7.4	32.7	48.6
Other Asia	4.4	8.5	6.9	37.7	57.5
Rest of the world	6.4	23.1	6.2	4.5	40.1

Value of goods imports from Russia responsive to price fluctuations

With regard to Russia, oil price fluctuations have an even greater impact on the import value and share of that country in the total Dutch goods imports. Together with natural gas, petroleum and petroleum products make up the bulk of imports from Russia. Also see Chapter 2 of this publication. In years characterised by high oil prices, Russia also has a relatively large share in Dutch goods imports, while in years marked by low oil prices such as 2020, Russia’s share is significantly lower (Figure 7.3.4). Imports intended for intermediate consumption from Russia amounted to €9.7 billion in 2021, against €4.9 in 2020. Goods imports intended for intermediate consumption from the United States amounted to €10.2 billion in 2021. This was €1.8 billion up on 2020, representing a growth of 21.4%. Similarly, petroleum and petroleum product imports play an important role in the US because of price volatility. Imports in this category were €1.1 billion higher than in 2020.

On the other hand, goods imports intended for intermediate consumption originating from Ukraine have been on the rise for years. In 2021, the Netherlands imported €1.3 billion worth of goods intended for intermediate consumption from Ukraine. Ukraine’s share in the total goods imports intended for intermediate consumption have increased from 0.4% to 0.7% since 2015. Imports consisted mostly of cereals and cereal preparations and vegetable oils, fats and waxes.

In 2021, the Netherlands imported €48.6 billion worth of goods from China, accounting for 10% of the total. More than two thirds of these goods left the Netherlands again in a virtually unprocessed form as re-exports. After Germany, China was therefore the Netherlands’ main import partner for goods trade. Dutch enterprises have started importing relatively more Chinese raw materials and semi-finished products to produce goods and provide services. In 2021, the Netherlands imported €8.4 billion worth of intermediate goods from China. The total value still stood at 7.5 billion euros in 2020.

Show datatable7.3.4 Shares in total goods imports for intermediate consumption, by country (%)Hide datatable7.3.4 Shares in total goods imports for intermediate consumption, by country (%)

7.3.4 Shares in total goods imports for intermediate consumption, by country (%)

Jaar	Germany	Belgium	Other EU-27	UK	Ukraine	Russia	Other Europe	US	Other Americas	China	Other Asia	Rest of the world
2021*	17.8	11.0	16.2	5.4	0.7	5.6	4.7	5.9	3.4	4.8	7.4	17.0
2020	18.3	10.7	16.8	4.9	0.7	3.6	4.3	6.1	3.0	5.5	6.7	19.6
2019	17.1	10.3	15.4	5.7	0.6	5.0	5.2	5.7	2.8	5.7	8.5	18.0
2018	16.7	10.4	14.7	6.3	0.4	5.9	5.6	5.2	2.6	4.9	8.3	19.0
2017	17.0	10.4	14.9	5.3	0.5	5.7	4.8	5.0	2.8	4.6	9.1	20.1
2016	17.8	10.1	14.8	5.1	0.4	5.6	4.7	4.9	3.0	4.4	8.2	21.1
2015	16.1	9.5	13.9	4.7	0.4	4.8	5.7	4.6	2.5	3.9	8.1	25.8

7.4Composition and origin of services imports

Business services were again the largest category of services imports in 2021 (Figure 7.4.1). In 2021, the Netherlands imported €48.6 billion worth of business services, representing an increase of €0.9 billion relative to 2020. The bulk of business services (91.1%) were imported by enterprises for further processing. Of this €44.2 billion worth of imported business services for intermediate consumption, €27.2 billion was used to again export goods and services from the Netherlands. Transport services were the second largest category. In 2021, the Netherlands imported €1.7 billion more of these types of services than in 2020, which were intended almost entirely (97.6%) for intermediate consumption. ICT services rank third among the most important categories of imported services. ICT services were imported at an amount of €15.1 billion. A total of 54.0% of the intermediate imports of ICT services were incorporated in exports of goods and services.

Show datatable7.4.1 Destination of imported services by service category, top 10, 2021* (bn euros)Hide datatable7.4.1 Destination of imported services by service category, top 10, 2021* (bn euros)

7.4.1 Destination of imported services by service category, top 10, 2021* (bn euros)

Dienstencategorie	Imports for intermediate consumption processed for domestic expenditure	Imports for intermediate consumption processed for exports	Imports intended for direct domestic expenditure
Other business services	17.1	27.2	4.3
Transport services	4.9	13.8	0.5
ICT services	4.7	5.6	4.7
Financial services	6.7	4.5	0.2
Royalties	2.4	8.8	0.0
Travel services	0.7	0.6	7.2
Manufacturing services	1.0	3.5	0.1
Construction services	1.9	0.3	0.5
Maintenance and repair	0.8	1.3	0.0
Personal, cultural and recreational services	0.6	0.7	0.0

Table 7.4.2 shows from which countries or groups of countries services are imported and how they are used in the Dutch economy. The US was the largest import partner for services in 2021 (€23.5 billion), followed by the UK and Germany. The EU internal market as a whole accounted for €64.1 billion of imported services. Imports of services from the US fell by €4.5 billion in 2021, mainly due to a sharp drop in imports of royalties.

	Imports for domestic consumption			Total
	imports for intermediate consumption		imports directly destined for domestic consumption
	domestic consumption	exports
Countries and groups of countries	€bn
Germany	4.3	7.2	2.9	14.3
Belgium	3.2	4.7	1.5	9.3
Other EU-27	12.4	21.8	6.4	40.5
United Kingdom	5.8	9.1	1.6	16.5
Ukraine	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.1
Russia	0.2	0.3	0.0	0.5
Other Europe	1.3	2.1	0.7	4.0
United States	8.5	12.7	2.3	23.5
Other America	1.6	2.6	0.3	4.4
China	0.5	0.9	0.3	1.8
Other Asia	3.2	4.5	1.7	9.4
Rest of the world	0.5	0.8	0.4	1.7

EU countries’ share of total intermediate services imports growing solidly since 2015

Figure 7.4.3 shows the shares of different countries and groups of countries in the total intermediate services imports from 2015 up to and including 2021. The EU countries’ share of total intermediate imports of services was 49.5% and has been growing solidly since 2015: the EU-27 is shown from the left vertical axis to the first light green bar. The growth of 4.2 percentage points between 2020 and 2021 was mainly at the expense of the share of other European countries (–‍1.8 percentage points), the US (–‍1.6 percentage points) and other countries in North and South America (–‍1.0 percentage points). The shares of Russia and China, on the other hand, both increased by 0.2 percentage points in 2021.

When it comes to imports of services from EU countries, business services and transport services dominate with an import value of €21 billion and €13.4 billion respectively. Almost half (48%) of total imports of business services and over 71% of total imports of transport services came from EU countries. When it comes to imports of services from non-EU countries, business services, too, formed the most important category with an import value of €23.2 billion. The UK and the US are the largest suppliers of other business services from non-EU countries. Second to business services, financial services are the most important category in services imports from non-EU countries at €7.7 billion, followed by remuneration for the use of intellectual property at a value of €7.6 billion. The US dominates both categories with approximately half of the imports. The majority of imports of ICT services (55%) also came from non-EU countries, with a prominent role for the US and the UK. 17% of imports of ICT services came from Asian countries.

Show datatable7.4.3 Shares in total services imports for intermediate consumption, by country (%)Hide datatable7.4.3 Shares in total services imports for intermediate consumption, by country (%)

7.4.3 Shares in total services imports for intermediate consumption, by country (%)

Jaar	Germany	Belgium	Other EU-27	UK	Ukraine	Russia	Other Europe	US	Other Americas	China	Other Asia	Rest of the world
2021*	10.6	7.3	31.6	13.8	0.1	0.5	3.1	19.6	3.9	1.3	7.1	1.2
2020	9.8	6.5	29.0	13.9	0.1	0.3	4.9	21.2	4.9	1.1	7.1	1.2
2019	10.0	5.6	29.6	13.2	0.1	0.5	5.6	20.3	5.3	1.3	7.1	1.4
2018	9.6	5.2	30.2	11.3	0.1	0.8	10.1	17.0	5.6	1.7	7.0	1.4
2017	10.1	5.4	31.5	11.7	0.1	0.5	10.1	15.8	5.2	1.8	6.1	1.5
2016	9.8	5.0	27.8	12.1	0.1	0.4	11.0	19.4	4.2	2.2	6.2	1.7
2015	8.7	5.1	26.2	13.4	0.1	0.4	10.4	21.3	4.6	1.7	6.1	2.1

7.5The importance of imports for Dutch exports

The previous sections have already shown that the Netherlands, which is generally an active participant in global value chains, exports goods and services that in turn require large quantities of goods imports and service imports in their production process. While the coronavirus pandemic severely hampered imports of goods and services in 2020, 2021 showed first signs of recovery. See also CBS, 2021a; 2021b; 2021c. Particularly, goods imports managed to rapidly recover, but also service imports from the EU-27 have grown in 2021 – imports that were partly processed by Dutch enterprises in their production for the foreign market.

Imports incorporated in exports held a relatively larger proportion of goods in 2021

In 2021, each euro of domestic goods exported required approximately 45 cents of imported goods and services. This ‘import content’ was 35% in the case of Dutch service exports.

In 2021, goods exports depended heavily on goods importsnoot2, as was also the case in previous years. Goods made up over 80% of total imports intended for goods exports (Table 7.5.1).noot3 A similar pattern can be seen in imports used for services exports: in 2021 the majority (74%) of total imports for services exports consisted of services. Goods imports used as input for both goods exports and services exports increased sharply in the 2020–2021 period, i.e. from €84 billion to €108 billion (+29%), while services imports contracted from €71 billion to €63 billion (–‍11%). This means that the imports, which are to a large extent incorporated in Dutch exports, include a relatively larger proportion of foreign goods. This can partly be explained by the surge in demand for oil and oil prices. Oil is a major input for many different export products.

The reverse was seen in 2020: the importance of services imports relative to goods imports had actually increased slightly in 2020 compared to 2019. (See Bohn et al., 2022b). Initially, the coronavirus crisis had a huge impact on goods trade, including on imports of intermediate goods. Consider, for example, the shutdown of cargo transport in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic and the global container shortage. Services imports may have been more resilient during the pandemic.

At the same time, it appears that the services imports incorporated in exports of both goods and services in 2021 were below pre-pandemic levels. This may seem surprising at first given that the total export value in 2021 was already close to the 2019 figure again. The fact that services imports incorporated in exports were €10 billion less in 2021 than in 2019 may be related to the changed composition of Dutch exports. Expenditures on intellectual property, for example, declined sharply, thereby reflecting restructurings of money and service flows by multinationals due to new tax legislation (Dahlmans et al., 2022; Poulissen et al., 2022). Domestic goods exports were over €20 billion higher in 2021 than in 2019, while services exports actually fell by almost €20 billion. Considering that goods exports mainly require imported goods and services exports mainly use imported services, this naturally leads to less services imports incorporated in these exports. Moreover, the share of services imports in the services exports and goods exports was also about 3 to 4 percentage points lower in 2021.

	Total exports	Value added	Imports required
			total	goods		services
Goods exports	€ million				%	€ million	%
2019	232,015	124,716	107,300	83,001	77	24,299	23
2020	216,008	120,787	95,221	71,804	75	23,417	25
2021*	252,211	137,548	114,664	92,985	81	21,678	19
Services exports
2019	180,790	117,641	63,149	14,680	23	48,469	77
2020	164,212	104,453	59,758	12,109	20	47,650	80
2021*	162,200	105,701	56,500	14,923	26	41,576	74

7.6International interrelatedness via Dutch imports and exports

Table 7.6.1 illustrates the interrelatedness of the global economy via the Dutch production chainnoot4 in 2021. To what extent are imports of goods and services from one country or region incorporated in exports to another country in 2021? For example, Dutch enterprises imported a total of €23.0 billion worth of goods and services from Germany (column ‘Total’, row ‘Germany’), of which about 10% is incorporated in the exports of Dutch enterprises to America (column ‘America’, row ‘Germany’). At the same time, Dutch enterprises used €22.5 billion worth of imports to export goods and services to the Asian continent (column ‘Asia’, row ‘Total’). Of these imports, €11.1 billion came from the EU-27, which is the sum of Belgium, Germany and other EU-27 in column ‘Asia’, €2.7 billion from the Asian continent and €3.8 billion from America.

European production chains continue to be essential but EU trade less important after Brexit

Once again, the figures in Tables 7.6.1 and 7.6.2 show that the Netherlands plays an important role in intraregional trade within the European internal market. Also see Baldwin & Lopez-Gonzalez (2013) and Bohn et al. (2022b). A substantial proportion of the imports incorporated in exports came from the EU-27 and went to another (or the same) EU-27 country (€38.5 billion, equivalent to 22.5% of total imports for exports). At first glance, this seems to be a sharp drop from 2020 when the share from and to the EU was 28.9%. However, the UK has exited the EU in 2021. Were the UK not to be included in the intra-EU figures of 2020, and thus only the EU-27 as in 2021, we would actually see a slight increase in the share of imported services and goods from the EU incorporated in Dutch exports to the same group of EU countries, i.e. from 20.6% in 2020 to 22.5% in 2021. A lot of trade therefore still takes place within the EU, but noticeably less than before the UK’s exit. This emphasises the UK’s importance to Dutch imports.

With 41.8% (€71.5 billion), the importance of imports from the EU-27 destined for total Dutch exports is approximately double the intermediate imports only destined for the EU-27. Again, this is a decline relative to 2020 for the EU-28 as a whole (by 47.2%), but in fact a slight upturn when we apply the correction for the UK (38.9%). In particular, the Netherlands needed a lot of imports from Germany, i.e. nearly a third of the total required imports from the EU-27, followed by Belgium with 21.1%. The UK’s exit has also given the other EU countries greater relative importance. Altogether, the imports used from all EU countries except Germany and Belgium amounted to the other €33.4 billion (46.7%).

	Imports from	Exports to
		EU-27 (excluding the UK)		non-EU
		€bn	%	€bn	%
2020	EU-27 (excl. the UK)	31.9		28.4
	non-EU	33.9		60.8
2021*	EU-27 (excl. the UK)	38.5		33.0
	non-EU	40.0		59.6
Change 2021* relative to 2020	EU-27 (excl. the UK)	6.7	20.9	4.6	16.2
	non-EU	6.2	18.2	–1.2	–2.0

A closer look at imports from the UK

Back in 2020, when the UK was still part of the EU, the Netherlands imported €12.9 billion worth of goods and services that were processed in exports. In 2021, this import value from the UK reached €14.1 billion, accounting for 8.2% of total processed imports. Therefore, even post-Brexit, the UK continued to be an important trading partner for the Netherlands. The UK was almost as important as the Netherlands’ neighbouring country Belgium. In 2021, over 55% of the UK’s imports needed for our exports consisted of service imports.

The moderate growth in processed imports from the UK (post-Brexit) requires context. First, services imports had dropped by more than €1 billion (–‍12%), particularly driven by a sharp 43% contraction in royalty imports incorporated in exports. This was roughly equivalent to the 42% contraction in royalties from all countries. It thus concerns a pattern that is not specific to the UK. Second, despite the fact that the value of imported goods needed for exports rose sharply by 56%, this growth was mainly explained by price increases and growing imports of crude oil. Petroleum was thus responsible for more than half of total growth of goods imports processed in Dutch exports. The growth of petroleum imported from all countries and processed in our exports was even more pronounced, at 88%. Imports of natural gas from the UK incorporated in exports also grew significantly, at +131%. This did greatly exceed the growth from all countries (+28%).

The relative importance of the UK in terms of total imports incorporated in exports has remained a constant 8.2% between 2020 and 2021. If mineral fuels are not included, we even observe a drop in the total value of imported goods and services from the UK processed in Dutch exports in 2021 as well as a drop in the UK’s relative importance in the total, i.e. from 7.9% to 7.5%. In other words, without mineral fuels, the intermediate imports growth from the UK in 2021 proved less strong compared with the average growth from all other partner countries.

In addition to petroleum and natural gas, organic chemicals (€340 million), iron and steel (€209 million) and inorganic chemicals (€175 million) were the primary imported goods from the UK needed to achieve our exports. Important for services were business services (€3.6 billion), royalties (€943 million), transport services (€834 million) and manufacturing services (€826 million). The main markets for exports that used imported services from the UK were Germany at a 14.5% share, the US (9.7%), the UK itself (7.7%) and Belgium (7.5%).

Recovery of services imports incorporated in exports only visible in EU countries

Section 7.5 showed that while the value of imported goods incorporated in exports rose sharply in 2021, the value of imported services for exports slightly contracted. The growth of processed goods imports may be explained by a higher import value from all regions and countries represented separately in Table 7.6.1. Goods imports from Russia grew most rapidly at 127% and the growth also exceeded 50% for other America, the UK and other Asia.

On the other hand, the overall decline in services imports incorporated in exports can mostly be explained by a sharp contraction in services imports outside Europe. This may also be linked to the general contraction in services exports, which is mainly due to royalties;these require many imported services as inputs. Services imports from the EU-27 even increased slightly. This is contrary to the trend that services imports from the EU fell in 2020 compared to 2019 and non-EU countries (Bohn et al., 2022b). This could possibly be seen as a slight recovery of the services imports from the EU-27. As explained in section 7.7, this recovery appears not to apply to the services imports from non-EU countries. Section 7.7 examines this in greater detail and also describes the patterns at product level.

Modest amount of imports from Africa incorporated in exports, and mostly relating to goods

Africa is an interesting region given the (vital) raw materials originating from it, such as petroleum, coffee, iron ore and copper. Africa is also a region of focus in Dutch development cooperation, which is aimed at promoting trade and fostering economic integration with partner countries (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2022; Schreinemacher, 2022). Imports from Africa incorporated in Dutch exports were relatively limited in 2021 and accounted for more than €4.5 billion (Table 7.6.1). This represents an increase of 26% compared to pandemic year 2020. For the purposes of comparison, this is more or less the same amount as imports from China that have been processed in exports. Approximately half of Africa’s imports incorporated in Dutch exports go to EU-27 countries. More than 90% of those imports from Africa needed for exports involved imported goods, such as petroleum, but also coffee, tea, cacao, organic chemicals, and fruit and vegetables. It is important to note that these figures only pertain to direct imports; exports from Africa that are first shipped to China and incorporated in Chinese exports to the Netherlands are thus not included.

7.7Unravelling export-related imports in more detail

Goods imports incorporated in exports

Figure 7.7.1 shows the composition of goods importsnoot5 used in the production of Dutch exports in 2021. In comparison with Table 7.6.1., imports of services do not form part of the import categories. The distinction is made between chemical products, raw materials and mineral fuels, manufacturing products, machinery and transport equipment, and food and beverages.noot6 Imports of raw materials and mineral fuels with a total value of €33.1 billion were required to produce exports in 2021. Dutch enterprises used, meaning imported, €16.9 billion worth of manufacturing products, €13.6 billion worth of machinery and transport equipment, €13.5 billion worth of chemical products, and €12.4 billion worth of food and beverages, of which €2.3 billion were for cereals and cereal preparations; a commodity which, similar to mineral fuels, is also the focus of much attention due to the war in Ukraine.

Show datatable7.7.1 Composition of goods imports incorporated into exports, by country of origin and goods category, 2021*Hide datatable7.7.1 Composition of goods imports incorporated into exports, by country of origin and goods category, 2021*

7.7.1 Composition of goods imports incorporated into exports, by country of origin and goods category, 2021*

goederencategorie	Germany	Belgium	Other EU-27	Ukraine	Russia	UK	Africa	US	Other Americas	China	Other Asia	Rest of the world
Chemical products	3224	3087	2537	2	65	876	172	857	299	745	1363	279
Raw materials and mineral fuels	1487	2278	2148	107	6953	3756	3267	4106	2225	115	3087	3621
Manufactured goods	4813	2303	4482	40	115	769	121	534	197	1336	1215	962
Machinery and transport equipment	4363	1385	2662	3	3	521	17	1186	79	1278	1823	259
Food and beverages	2895	1823	2778	656	33	238	624	124	1158	163	1418	490
Total	16782	10876	14607	809	7169	6159	4200	6807	3957	3638	8906	5611

Almost half of goods imports destined for export come from the EU-27

The EU-27 appears to be responsible for slightly less than half (47%) of the imported goods required for Dutch exports. In Figure 7.7.1, the 27 countries making up the EU are represented by Germany, Belgium and other EU-27. In the previous year, the figure was 51%, excluding the UK. However, the EU’s share was higher than 50% in every product category except raw materials and mineral fuels. Of this largest import category, 82% came from countries outside the EU (including the UK). The Netherlands is most dependent on EU countries when it comes to imports for exports of industrial products, 69% of which coming from the EU-27 followed by chemical products (66%) and machinery and transport equipment (62%). By contrast, Dutch dependency on EU countries is often less than 50% when it comes to the main types of services (Figure 7.7.2).

In general, mineral fuels are particularly incorporated in exports of the same category (mineral fuels), but also in exports of organic chemicals, plastics in primary forms, manufacturing services and transport services. An example of this is crude oil imported in the Netherlands, processed into final products in oil refineries (e.g. petroleum, kerosene, diesel and LPG) or in semi-finished products (e.g. as a raw material for plastics destined for the processing of toys and packaging materials) for distribution to other countries.

Dependence on imports from Africa concentrated in two product categories

Apart from the EU-27, China and the US generally play an important role in Dutch imports for export production. Their combined share is between 11% and 18% in each of the product categories, except for cereals and cereal preparations (only 0.2%) and other food and beverages (3%). Dependence on the UK and the African continent was less distributed across the different product categories. In the case of the UK, our dependence on imports for exports was highest for chemical products and industrial products. When it comes to Africa, the Netherlands mainly depends on imports of raw materials and mineral fuels and food and beverages, excluding cereals. Food and beverages mainly involved coffee, tea and cocoa, fruit and vegetables, and fish.

2021 recovery after pandemic year widely visible in goods imports

The recovery of imports and exports after the COVID year 2020 is well reflected in the figures. Imports of nearly all product categories incorporated in exports grew in 2021 compared to 2020. This confirms that 2021 was a year of recovery with an increasing demand for many different intermediate goods inputs to achieve the growth in exports. The least growth was seen in imports of machinery and transport equipment. When it comes to the export market, the EU has gained in importance: in 2020, the EU was the destination for 42% of imported goods incorporated in exports and by 2021, that share grew to 46%.

Sharp fall in 2021 in royalty imports incorporated in exports

Figure 7.7.2 shows the top 5 imported services needed for Dutch exports in 2021.noot7 The service category ‘Other business services’ came first, with an import value of €22.6 billion, followed by imports of transport services, with a value of €11.4 billion. Imports of royalties (intellectual property remuneration) amounted to €8.1 billion and imports of ICT services to €4.9 billion. These four categories collectively made up 82% of total service imports used to produce Dutch exports in 2021. Relative to 2020, there was a drop in the share of imported royalties and ICT services incorporated in exports.

Show datatable7.7.2 Composition of services imports incorporated into exports, by country of origin and service category, 2021*Hide datatable7.7.2 Composition of services imports incorporated into exports, by country of origin and service category, 2021*

7.7.2 Composition of services imports incorporated into exports, by country of origin and service category, 2021*

Dienstencategorie	Germany	Belgium	Other EU-27	Ukraine	Russia	UK	Africa	US	Other Americas	China	Other Asia	Rest of the world
Other business services	2520	1229	6957	13	116	3618	132	3256	1252	338	2394	748
Financial services	112	686	568	1	2	671	3	1849	75	10	76	98
ICT services	472	226	1510	18	12	684	11	983	210	13	521	209
Royalties	270	87	2259	1	3	943	9	4065	215	27	127	119
Transport services	1594	1216	5141	20	62	834	137	539	341	344	472	659
Other services	1107	572	2148	2	25	1068	19	591	107	58	256	295
Total	6075	4016	18582	55	221	7820	311	11284	2199	790	3845	2128

Post-Brexit, half of services imports incorporated in exports come from non-EU countries

Half of the imported services in 2021 came from the EU-27; an increase compared with the 43% that came from the EU-27 in 2020. The EU share increase is mainly due to the sharp contraction of imported royalties from the US in 2021. The EU-28 share in 2020 (including the UK) was higher though, at 58%. However, the UK’s share in the total services imports incorporated in exports dropped from 21% in 2020 to 14% in 2021. In addition to an increasing share, the value of the services imports for exports from the EU-27 also increased in 2021, in contrast to the general contraction of services imports (Table 7.5.1). For four of the six service categories, the import value grew; only ICT services (–‍18%) and manufacturing services (–‍14%) recorded a decline in value. Among non-EU countries, the import value incorporated in exports actually contracted by 20% and the decline hit every service category except transport services and manufacturing services.

The EU-27 had a large share in transport services and the EU-27 share was lowest in terms of royalties, i.e. 32%. Despite the contraction in royalty imports from the US and the UK, those two countries still continued to be major players when it comes to these services. This is due to the major role of the US and the UK in imports of intellectual property (Aerts et al., 2020). This includes cases where, for example, a Dutch enterprise purchases a licence to use a software product developed in the US. Other examples are payments of royalties for movies and music, and franchise fees in the commercial sector and accommodation and food services sector. Second to the EU-27, the US and the UK are also the main suppliers of services as a whole.

Almost half of services imports incorporated in exports are destined for the EU-27

Looking at the export markets, it turns out that 46% of services used in total Dutch exports in 2021 were destined for one of the other EU-27 countries, which slightly exceeded the 43% share in 2020. The main export markets for the incorporated services imports were Germany (15%), the US (10%), the UK (8%), Belgium (7%) and France (6%). Among the main imported services (other business services, royalties, transport services and ICT services), the top 5 export markets were all similar, with Germany slightly more important as a market in transport services with a share of 20%. Ireland accounted for above-average imports of ICT services and royalties incorporated in exports, ranking fifth as a destination in both. Germany was invariably at the top as the most important market in each service category, followed by the US in three categories and followed by the UK in the case of transport services.

7.8Footprint of Dutch imports

The Netherlands aims to achieve climate neutral status in 2050 and has set the ambition to emit 55% less greenhouse gases in 2030 than in 1990, as set out in the Climate Plan, which is based on the Climate Agreement (Central Government, 2022). Since 2019, the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency has been annually recording the quantities of greenhouse gases emitted by the Netherlands and setting out the expected emissions in the coming years in order to monitor whether the Climate Agreement will be met. The Netherlands is a trading nation and ranks in the top 10 globally for both imports and exports of goods and services (see Chapter 3 in relation to goods trade and Chapter 4 for trade in services). In addition to greenhouse gas emissions within the Netherlands, it is therefore vital to also look at emissions in other countries caused by products imported by the Netherlands.

Compared to 2008, both emissions by the Dutch economy and the Netherlands’ emissions trade balance have decreased (CBS, 2022b). Emissions trade balance is the balance of the footprint of imports minus the footprint of exports. Although the greenhouse gas emissions by the Dutch economy decreased in 2021 compared to 2019 (CBS, 2022c), the footprint of imports in fact increased in 2021. The Netherlands’ emissions trade balance – imports minus exports – was positive in 2021. This means that Dutch imports have a more substantive greenhouse gas footprint than Dutch exports. The Netherlands thus conforms to the global pattern whereby developed economies tend to be net importers of greenhouse gas emissions and developing countries tend to be net exporters (WTO, 2021).

This section explores the greenhouse gas footprint of Dutch imports in 2021, thereby focusing on the following greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O). The footprint of Dutch imports includes the total emissions caused throughout the chain of a product until it reaches the Netherlands. Subsequent processing and movements in the Netherlands or in other countries have not been taken into account. The analysis uses the GLORIA MRIO table and international trade data from CBS (Section 7.9 Data and methods). These are provisional data, making all results in this section also of a provisional nature.

Research questions

The following questions are discussed in this section: What is the size of the footprint of imports? Does the footprint of imports differ between the various destinations of imports? For example, is the footprint of goods imports for re-exports higher or lower than the average? The next question focuses on the location of the footprint: which continent contributes most to the footprint of Dutch imports and which foreign industries contribute most to this footprint? In the remainder of this section, footprint always refers to the greenhouse gas footprint of imports, unless specifically stated otherwise.

Distribution of footprint of imports by use

Figure 7.8.1 represents the footprint of Dutch imports in 2021, divided by use of the imports, as shown at the beginning of this chapter for the import value. Contrary to the emissions trade balance, this section does include the footprint of imports for re-exports. Within the framework of the emissions trade balance (CBS, 2022b), the footprint of imports for re-exports is not included in the footprint for imports. Given the fact that these imports leave the Netherlands again, this footprint appears on both the positive and the negative side of the emissions trade balance and can thus be omitted. However, the emissions in the Netherlands of the actions to these imports for re-exports are included in the footprint for exports in the emissions trade balance.

Figure 7.8.2 shows the production chain of flour used in a Dutch bakery as an example to clarify the components of the footprint of imports. All components of this chain that take place up to the Dutch border contribute to the footprint of flour imports, meaning that there are industries that mainly produce services that contribute to the footprint of goods imports. The transport sector is one example. The footprint of the imports of goods thus contains the emissions of the production chain of each product within goods imports and the footprint of the service imports contains the emissions in the production chain of services imported by the Netherlands.

The total greenhouse gas footprint of imports in 2021 was 441 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalents, which is slightly higher than in 2019 when it amounted to 424 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalents. For more information on CO₂ equivalents, see CBS, 2022d. For the purposes of comparison: the footprint of Dutch consumptionnoot8 equalled 279 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2021 (CBS, 2023). More than half of the total footprint of imports consisted of CO₂ emissions. For service imports, the CO₂ share was as high as 79%. As a whole, however, service imports bear little contribution: the footprint of goods imports is almost fifteen times larger than that of service imports. It should be noted in this context that part of the footprint of goods imports does come from, for example, transport services: everything in the production chain of goods that are eventually imported into the Netherlands falls under the footprint of those goods. These emissions of transport services for the purpose of imported goods are thus not included in the footprint of services imports. For each euro of imports, goods imports contribute more to the footprint of imports than services imports. This is in keeping with the intuition that the production of goods generally has a larger impact than the production of services.

Imports for re-exports have a lower than average footprint

The footprint of imports by destination shows that almost half relates to imports for re-exports. The Netherlands acts as a global hub in which the port of Rotterdam holds a key position. On a global scale, the port of Rotterdam ranks among the top 10 container transit ports (UNCTAD, 2022) and most of the port transhipment worldwide takes place in Rotterdam (Botlek Europoort, 2023). Goods imports for re-exports are responsible for the largest share of the footprint of imports: 44% of the total and over 47% of only the footprint of goods imports. Though it may be argued that these products leave the Netherlands again after having first been imported, it could also be argued that the Netherlands indirectly contributes to these emissions. After all, for each euro of re-exports, the Netherlands made 12 cents in 2021 (see Chapter 6 of this publication). Despite the relatively low contribution for each euro of re-exports to the Dutch economy, it involves substantive flows such that these earnings nevertheless represent a significant interest. As a comment, however, trade can also contribute to a greenhouse gas footprint reduction if the emissions in the origin country are lower in production than the emissions of the production from another country, provided this reduction is sufficient to also offset transport emissions (WTO, 2021). Approximately 50.1% of total Dutch goods imports are destined for re-exports (Section 7.2). Thus, imports for re-exports contain relatively fewer high-footprint products than average in total goods imports, such as petroleum and petroleum industry products, which are mainly used for domestic production. As a result, the footprint per euro of goods imports for re-exports (0.80 kg CO₂ equivalents per euro) is lower than the average footprint per euro of goods imports (0.85 kg CO₂ equivalents per euro).

The footprint of imports destined for domestic expenditure, or in other words for direct consumption within the Netherlands, is lowest among goods imports. Approximately 10% of the footprint of imports relates to the goods imports intended for domestic expenditure, which is close to the percentage in terms of value: 11%. Goods imports destined for domestic expenditure have relatively fewer products with a high footprint than total goods imports (e.g. a smaller share of agricultural products, minerals and chemical industry products). The footprint per euro of goods imports destined for domestic expenditure is 0.63 kg of CO₂ equivalents per euro, which is indeed below average.

With 0.20 kg CO₂ equivalents, the footprint per euro of services imports is much smaller than the footprint per euro of goods imports. More than 92% of the footprint of services imports is caused by services imports intended for intermediate consumption. Since almost 85% of services imports by value are destined for intermediate consumption, it is not very surprising that most of the footprint of services imports also relates to this category. With 0.22 kg CO₂ equivalents per euro, the footprint of services imports intended for intermediate consumption is slightly higher than average for services imports. This is mainly due to the fact that these imports involve relatively more transport services that cause more emissions than many other services. Again, not all emissions of the transport sector for Dutch imports are included in the footprint of services imports. In fact, the main part is included in the footprint of goods imports. On a worldwide scale, the international transport sector accounts for 12% of global greenhouse gas emissions (WTO, 2021). From a consumption footprint perspective, this is almost entirely attributed to the consumption of goods.

Where is the footprint of imports located?

We have already seen that the GHG footprint of Dutch imports is extensive. This raises the question as to where this footprint is located. In which continent is the largest part of the footprint of Dutch imports generated? Figure 7.8.3 shows the share per continent. With 189 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalents, which is 43% of the total footprint, the largest part of the footprint of imports is generated in Europe. Asia and America are a distant second and third with 30% and 15%, respectively. The GHG footprint distribution of imports by continent is similar to the GHG footprint distribution of Dutch consumptionnoot9 by continent (see, for example, Figure 4.3 in Wilting, 2021).

The distribution of the import value by continent differs greatly from the distribution of the footprint of imports by continent. Almost 60% of the total import value comes from Europe, significantly more than the share of the greenhouse gas footprint generated in Europe, which is at 43%. Conversely, the share of import value from Asia and Africa is smaller than the share of the footprint. About 20% of the direct import value comes from Asia, while it has 30% of the Dutch footprint of imports. For Africa, this is 2% of the import value and 11% of the footprint, respectively. This shows that the most polluting part of the production chain of imports coming from Europe to the Netherlands is not in Europe itself but in Africa or Asia, for example. In terms of greenhouse gas emissions, there is thus a larger part of the production chain of Dutch imports in Africa and Asia than the direct import value would suggest.

Footprint of imports in Africa for the most part consisting of methane

The Dutch footprint of imports generated in Asia consists of 70% CO₂. These emissions are particularly caused by the energy supply in Asia (Figure 7.8.4). This does not come as a surprise as energy supply on a global scale contributes significantly to the greenhouse gas footprint within international trade (WTO, 2021). A small number of sectors, including the energy supply sector and the transport sector, cover 75% of the global greenhouse gas footprint within international trade. The footprint generated in Europe and America also holds CO₂ as its main component, at 68% and 53%, respectively.

Africa shows a different picture: methane is the main component in the footprint of imports. Industries responsible for methane emissions in Africa include mining and quarrying, agriculture and waste management. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas with a global warming potential eighty times greater than that of CO₂ during the first twenty years after its release (UNEP, 2023). The oil and gas industry is a major emitter of methane. Methane can be released, for example, during natural gas exploration and extraction, but also, for example, by leaking pumps or pipelines during transportation or leaking during natural gas storage. Reducing methane emissions is one of the most effective measures the energy sector can take to address the climate crisis (UNEP, 2023).

Show datatable7.8.4 Shares¹⁾ of various greenhouse gases in the Dutch import footprint, by continent, 2021 (%)Hide datatable7.8.4 Shares¹⁾ of various greenhouse gases in the Dutch import footprint, by continent, 2021 (%)

7.8.4 Shares¹⁾ of various greenhouse gases in the Dutch import footprint, by continent, 2021 (%)

Continent	Carbon dioxide (CO2)	Nitrous oxide (N2O)	Methane (CH4)
Africa	33	27	40
Americas	53	24	23
Australia and Oceania	41	22	37
Asia	70	7	23
Europe	68	14	18
1) This is the share in the total of CO2eq per continent. First, nitrous oxide and methane emissions are converted into CO2eq, after which the shares are calculated.

Energy supply worldwide bears 20% of the Dutch import footprint

Figure 7.8.5 represents the six industries worldwide, distributed across all countries outside the Netherlands, bearing most of the Netherlands’ footprint of imports. The energy supply sector has the most CO₂ emissions worldwide (IEA 2022). It goes without saying that this sector bears a large part of the Dutch footprint of imports. As known, the global agricultural sector is also a major contributor to the greenhouse gas footprint, which this figure again shows. Although the Netherlands is known as an essential export country for agriculture (Jukema et al., 2023), many agricultural products are also imported from elsewhere. This is consistent with the observation that the total amount of land for Dutch consumption in 2017 was three times the area of the Netherlands (Van Oorschot et al., 2021a), so both domestic consumption and exports will also require imports from elsewhere. For example, the Netherlands imports many soybeans and soybean meal from Brazil (CBS, 2022e), which is partly needed to feed livestock on Dutch soil.

The mining and quarrying sector, chemical industry, basic metal industry and oil industry all consist of processes that release high levels of greenhouse gases. Also, as virtually no raw materials are extracted in the Netherlands, many raw materials and semi-finished products of these raw materials are thus imported.

Show datatable7.8.5 Sectors in the global economy bearing the largest portion of the Dutch import footprint, 2021 (Mt CO2eq)Hide datatable7.8.5 Sectors in the global economy bearing the largest portion of the Dutch import footprint, 2021 (Mt CO2eq)

7.8.5 Sectors in the global economy bearing the largest portion of the Dutch import footprint, 2021 (Mt CO2eq)

Bedrijfstak	Russia	China	US	Brazil	Europe (excl. Russia)	Other
Energy supply	24.592	14.889	8.984	0.252	16.033	25.548
Agriculture	0.473	2.475	2.561	8.323	32.38	36.957
Mining and quarrying	13.735	7.232	1.749	0.758	6.666	19.646
Chemical industry	2.922	6.123	2.755	0.504	14.722	18.383
Basic metal industry	4.216	4.719	0.669	0.117	11.552	14.467
Petroleum industry	2.548	7.766	1.282	0.434	13.416	7.163

7.9Data and methods

CBS calculates the footprint of imports for domestic expenditure and production as part of the emissions trade balances (CBS, 2022b). However, only the total value is reported. Different sources were brought together to provide detail on the footprint of imports and also to calculate a footprint of imports for re-exports.

First, we calculated a footprint per country, per sector and per unit of production by means of an MRIO (Multi-Regional Input Output table). We used the MRIO from release 057 from the GLORIA global environment-extended multi-region input-output database (Lenzen et al., 2021a), developed in the Global MRIO lab (Lenzen et al., 2017). There are two important reasons to opt for GLORIA. First, this database represents a large number of sectors and countries, which will make the footprint of imports available at a more detailed country level. Second, this database has emission data, eliminating the need for additional steps to link the correct emission data to the MRIO. As an additional advantage, GLORIA is very quickly available and up to date; at the time of writing, there is already an MRIO for 2021. We regularly check the offer of MRIOs to see which is most suitable for specific purposes. A different MRIO may be chosen in the future and this will lead to different results.

Calculating emissions per unit of production is done by means of an input-output analysis. First, the emission coefficient is calculated by dividing the total emissions of a sector in a country by the total output of that sector. Next, these coefficients are placed in a diagonal matrix and multiplied by the Leontief inverse to calculate the required input. The Leontief inverse describes the input coefficient required for one unit of final demand in a sector. To determine the footprint of products up to the Dutch border, the Leontief inverse is rendered from the MRIO after the Netherlands has been removed from it.

The data for the Netherlands is removed from the MRIO to avoid double counting. Imagine a product going from Belgium to the Netherlands, then to Germany and then back again to the Netherlands where it is consumed. In that case, the emissions in Belgium would be counted twice: i.e. the first time the product enters the Netherlands and the second time the product enters the Netherlands. If the Netherlands is removed from the MRIO, the emissions emitted in the intermediate steps in the Netherlands are not counted. This type of chain is also referred to as feedback-loop and it is a known fact that the share of emissions settling in the consuming country is small. For example in Moran (2018), the share of CO₂ emissions in the Netherlands, from imports for domestic consumption, is estimated at 0.3%.

For the conversion of the different emission coefficients to CO₂ equivalents, we made use of the GWP (Global Warming Potential) factors for methane and nitrous oxide. Due to new IPCC rules, new GWP factors are in use from mid-September 2022. Methane (CH₄) now counts more heavily (factor 28 as opposed to 25), while nitrous oxide (N₂O) counts less heavily, i.e. a factor 265 instead of 298. This chapter still makes use of the old factors in order to be consistent with previously published values for the footprint of imports.

The GLORIA MRIO cannot be directly deployed due to the presence of large negative values in the ‘changes in inventories’ column. These negative values are a result of the balancing procedure for the MRIO. While this is not an unusual method of balancing an MRIO, it does result in an MRIO that must be processed before the Leontief inverse can be calculated. In this study, we chose to convert the negative values in ‘changes in inventories’ to positive primary inputs, also known in literature as ‘mirroring’ (see, for example, Section 3.3 in Lenzen, 2021b). A drawback of this method is that it may have an impact on a country’s GDP that is determined using this MRIO. However, the effect of this conversion on the footprint is minimal. Moreover, there are already differences between GDP calculated with this dataset and GDP as reported by the IMF.

To subsequently calculate the footprint of Dutch imports, the emissions per unit of production must be multiplied by the number of units required for Dutch imports. The required units are determined by scaling the Dutch import figures to total imports to the Netherlands as provided in the MRIO. This final step is needed because of the use of different units in the different datasets, for example US dollars and euros.

The Dutch import figures were obtained by combining the data from the National Accounts with the International Trade in Goods and International Trade in Services statistics, with the data of the National Accounts taking precedence. Because of differences in definitions and methods, these figures differ from the other totals shown on StatLine. By combining these statistics, imports can be divided by use and by origin country (Lemmers & Wong, 2017; Aerts et al., 2022). These import figures are then combined with the emissions per unit of production of an industry in a country to determine the footprint of an imported product.

Finally, the footprint of imports for the production in the Netherlands and for final domestic expenditure is scaled to the footprint of imports in the emissions trade balance. The resulting ratio is used to determine the footprint of imports for re-exports.

7.10References

Open references