Executive summary

The Internationalisation Monitor describes trends in globalisation and their consequences for the Dutch economy and society. It is published twice annually as part of the Globalisation research agenda of Statistics Netherlands (CBS), commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The re-election of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States has led to a significant shift in Washington DC. President Trump is wasting no time as he begins his second term. New announcements and presidential executive orders emanate from the White House nearly every day, intended either to reverse the policies of his predecessor or to usher in what he proclaims to be a ‘new, golden age’ (Tukker, 2025). This shift is not only having consequences for the United States itself, but for the entire world, including the Netherlands.

Few people outside the United States would have welcomed President Trump’s announcement on 2 April 2025, which he referred to as ‘Liberation Day’: a general import tariff of 10% on all foreign goods, as well as double-digit import tariffs on dozens of individual countries which, according to the Trump administration, have treated the United States unfairly (Swanson & Romm, 2025). These tariffs would appear to mark the start of the trade war that Trump has been signalling for some time, and which the EU is now caught up in.

The European Union and the United States have long maintained close relations. Together, the EU and the US represent nearly 30% of global trade in goods and services and 43% of global GDP. More than €4.4 billion worth of goods and services cross the Atlantic Ocean every day (European Council, 2025). However, the close relations between the US and the EU – particularly when it comes to trade – are currently under serious pressure. In 2023, the EU exported more goods to the US than vice versa, while the US exported more services to the EU (Eurostat, 2025a, 2025b). It is the US’s trade deficit in goods that is particularly troubling to President Trump (Harithas et al., 2025). Time will tell what growing protectionism in the US means for the global economy, trade relations between the EU and the US, and the consequences for the Netherlands.

In this edition of the Internationalisation Monitor, we will not be able to answer all the questions currently being raised about the Netherlands’ relationship with the US, partly because there are so many questions across such a range of areas, and partly because collecting reliable data takes time. Most of the data in this edition of the Internationalisation Monitor therefore pertains to the period before President Trump assumed office for the second time.

Below we outline the main findings presented in each chapter of this edition:

Chapter 1: Profile of the US

• The United States has played a key role in the international arena for 150 years due to its dominance as the world’s largest economy. US policies inevitably affect the rest of the world, including the Netherlands.
• In 2023, the US was still the largest economy in the world with a GDP of $27,721 billion. This represents over a quarter of global GDP. China was the world’s second largest economy at $17,758 billion, and Germany the third largest at $4,527 billion.
• In 2023, GDP per capita in the US was $82,700, significantly higher than the Netherlands’ $64,800. When adjusted for purchasing power parity, however, GDP per capita in the US was $74,578 in 2023, compared to $71,447 in the Netherlands.
• While China became the world’s largest goods exporter in 2007, the US is the world’s largest importer of goods, with a total import value of $3,168 billion in 2023, representing a 14.4% share of global imports. In 2023, China’s share of global goods exports was 15.3%, while that of the US was 9.1%. The US had a goods trade deficit of $1,150 billion in 2023, the largest in the world.
• In 2023, Canada was the top destination for US goods exports, at $354 billion, followed by Mexico at $323 billion. Mexico was the leading source of US goods imports at $475 billion, followed by China at $427 billion, and Canada at $419 billion.
• The seaport of Los Angeles (California) handled the most international goods by value at $291.8 billion in 2023. These were mainly imports. With respect to air freight, O’Hare Airport in Chicago (Illinois) handled more than any other airport in the US by value. The seaport of Houston (Texas), JFK Airport (New York), and Corpus Christi seaport (Texas) handled the largest export values in 2023.
• In 2023, mineral fuels were the most important export product of the US (16.1% of all goods exports), originating predominantly from Texas and Louisiana. Other important export product categories include machinery, electrical machinery, passenger cars, and aircraft. The top 5 goods import categories are electrical machinery, machinery, passenger cars, mineral fuels, and pharmaceutical products.
• The United States is the leading exporter and importer of services worldwide. In 2023, the US accounted for 15.3% of world services exports. US services exports amounted to $1,027 billion, while services imports were $748 billion, resulting in a services trade surplus of $278 billion.
• The most significant services export category for the US in 2023 was business services (almost a quarter), followed by travel services (18.4%) and financial services (17.1%). With respect to imports, travel services and business services together accounted for 40.6% of total service imports.
• The US is the most popular destination for foreign direct investment in the world, with an inward investment position of $5,394 billion in 2023. The outward investment position of the US was even larger at $6,676 billion in 2023. The United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg were among the top destinations for US foreign direct investment.
• The US consistently ranks among the top 3 most innovative economies according to the Global Innovation Index. In 2021, the US spent 3.5% of its GDP on research and development, ranking third globally.
• In the 2024 IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking, the US ranked fourth, falling three positions from the previous year.
• On the environment, the US ranked 46th on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index for 2024, 35th on the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) for 2024, and 57th on the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) of 2025.

Chapter 2: Trade in goods between the Netherlands and the US

• The Netherlands exported €38.4 billion worth of goods to the US in 2024, an increase of €4.6 billion compared to 2023. This represented 5.7% of the Netherlands’ total goods exports. The US is the fifth most important destination for Dutch goods exports, making it a more important purchaser of Dutch goods than China.
• Machinery and equipment, chemical products, and manufactured goods together accounted for 75% of goods exported to the US in 2024 by value. More specifically, the main export categories were medicines and pharmaceuticals, petroleum and machinery and appliances.
• The Netherlands imported €59.8 billion worth of goods from the US in 2024, a decrease of €4.2 billion compared to 2023. This represented 10.2% of goods imported into the Netherlands, making the US the second most important supplier of goods to the Netherlands in 2024.
• The largest import product category was mineral fuels with a share of 32.4%. Machinery and equipment (23.5%) and manufactured goods (19.9%) completed the top 3. More specifically, the main imports were crude oil, natural gas, and medical instruments and devices.
• About 11 thousand firms in the Netherlands exported goods to the US in 2023. Most exporters to the US are in manufacturing (machinery, chemicals and electrical engineering), the wholesale and retail trade, and specialised business services.
• About 25 thousand firms in the Netherlands imported goods from the US in 2023. These are mainly active in the wholesale and retail trade, manufacturing (petroleum industry, chemicals and machinery) and specialised business services.
• In 2023, 4% of all US goods exports were destined for the Netherlands. This made the Netherlands the fourth largest export destination, after Canada, Mexico and China. US exports destined for the Netherlands in 2023 mainly consisted of mineral fuels (including crude oil, natural gas and refined petroleum products), optical measuring instruments (including lasers) and pharmaceutical products.
• Of all the US states, Texas exported the most goods to the Netherlands by value in 2023 – mainly mineral fuels.
• In 2023, 1.3% of all US goods imports came from the Netherlands. The Netherlands was the 19th largest import partner for the US in 2023, playing a modest role as a goods supplier to the US. The three most important products imported into the US from the Netherlands in 2023 were pharmaceuticals, machinery and mineral fuels.
• Of all US states, North Carolina imported the most from the Netherlands by value in 2023 – mainly pharmaceuticals.

Chapter 3: Trade in services between the Netherlands and the US

• For years, the Netherlands has imported more services from the United States than vice versa. The Netherlands exported €32.7 billion worth of services to the US in 2024, while services imports from the US amounted to €50.5 billion.
• The US is one of the Netherlands’ most important trading partners and there are therefore close links between the two countries. In 2024, the US was the largest supplier of services to the Netherlands. On the export side, the US was the Netherlands’ second most important partner, just behind Germany. However, the importance of the US in the Netherlands’ total services trade is declining.
• The US share of total imports of services into the Netherlands fell from 23% in 2014 to 17.9% in 2024. In terms of the Netherlands’ services exports, the US share fell from 12.7% to 10.8% over the same period.
• This decline in the importance of the US in the trade in services is also evident when we look at individual types of services. In 2024, the US was the largest supplier in only two categories: intellectual property use and telecommunications, computer and information services, at 53.8% and 15.9%, respectively.
• Other trading partners have surpassed the US as the Netherlands most important partner in various other categories of export services. In 2024, the US was the largest importer of business services with a 15.8% of Dutch exports. In 2014, in addition to business services, the US was also the largest purchaser of financial services and the use of intellectual property.
• From a US perspective, the Netherlands was the 11th largest trading partner in terms of services exports in 2023, with a share of 3.5%.
• With respect to intellectual property, the Netherlands was the destination for nearly 10% of US exports in 2023; for other business services, the share was nearly 5%.
• The Netherlands was the 12th largest trading partner in terms of services imports in 2023, with a share of 2.1%.
• Imports of services into the US from the Netherlands include a high share for transportation services, intellectual property, telecommunications, computer and information services, and business services, relative to total US services imports.

Chapter 4: The Netherlands and the US in global value chains

• Dutch exports of goods and services to the US amounted to €55.7 billion in 2023. The Netherlands earned approximately €28.7 billion from exports to the US, accounting for 7.7% of total export earnings and 2.7% of Dutch GDP. Exports to the US included a relatively high share of services (47%, compared to 27% for Dutch exports overall).
• On average, the Netherlands earned €0.51 on every euro exported to the US, higher than the average of €0.40 per euro of export. The highest export revenues were generated in legal and management consulting services (€4.5 billion), followed by wholesale trade and brokerage (€3.8 billion). Dutch manufacturing as a whole earned €6.3 billion from exports to the US, with the machinery industry earning the most at €2.2 billion.
• The domestic export category that generated the highest income was specialised machinery, such as chip-making equipment, which accounted for €2.3 billion in earnings.
• Exports of steel and aluminium products, now subject to new US tariffs, represented an export value of €1.8 billion in 2023, with the Netherlands earning €1 billion from these goods.
• An estimated 196,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs were linked to Dutch exports to the US in 2023, with 60% of those jobs linked to services exports.
• In 2022, the Netherlands earned an additional €16.7 billion through indirect exports to the US, primarily through the supply of intermediate goods to countries such as Ireland (18%), Germany (9%) and Belgium (6%).
• In total, direct and indirect export earnings from trade with the US amounted to €41.3 billion in 2022, representing 12% of total Dutch export earnings.
• Around 92% of earnings from exports to the US were linked to final consumption or investment in the US, with just 8% associated with Dutch value added embedded in US exports from the US to third countries, including China, Canada, and Mexico.
• In 2023, the Netherlands imported goods and services from the US to the value of €93.4 billion: €52.6 billion in goods and €40.7 billion in services. This makes the US the largest services import partner for the Netherlands (18%).
• About 26% of goods imported from the US were re-exported. The main categories were medical technology, natural gas, and crude oil. 23% were used in Dutch production. Imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US destined for consumption in the Netherlands rose sharply to €3.4 billion in 2023, driven by the decline in Russian gas imports.
• The US earned €61.4 billion from exports to the Netherlands in 2022, of which €49.5 billion came from direct exports and €11.9 billion from indirect exports.
• In terms of trade in value-added, the US had a trade surplus with the Netherlands of €20.1 billion in 2022, indicating that the US adds more domestic value to its exports to the Netherlands than vice versa.

Chapter 5: US multinationals in the Netherlands

• Between 2018 and 2022, the number of US multinationals in the Netherlands grew slightly from nearly 3,100 to around 3,200 firms (+3.6%). In contrast, the number of multinationals from other countries grew more substantially (+26%) over the same period, while Dutch multinationals declined slightly in number.
• US multinationals are the most active in wholesale and retail trade, specialised business services, information and communication, and manufacturing. In 2022, over 1,000 US firms operated in wholesale and retail, followed by over 600 in specialised business services, nearly 600 in information and communication, and nearly 500 in manufacturing.
• US firms are especially prevalent in knowledge-intensive sectors. In information and communication, and specialised business services, they represent nearly 19% and over 13% of all firms, respectively. Within business services, 43% of US firms are involved in holding activities and strategic management. In manufacturing, nearly 13% of US multinationals focus on machinery and equipment, while over 15% specialise in chemicals.
• US multinationals in sectors such as information and communication, specialised business services, and manufacturing generate significantly higher revenues, despite being fewer in number.
• US firms conduct significantly more trade outside the EU compared to other types of multinationals. Their median import and export values are higher.
• In 2022, US multinationals in the Netherlands employed approximately 245,850 people (FTE), representing nearly 23% of total employment by foreign multinationals. This marks a steady increase from 212,585 employees (FTE) in 2018.
• On average, Dutch multinationals employ more people (FTE) per firm than US or other foreign firms. Furthermore, employees at US multinationals tend to be older and be paid higher median gross wages than those at other types of multinationals.
• In 2022, with 3,452 US firms, around 13% of US multinationals in the EU were based in the Netherlands. Germany and Ireland were also home to a significant proportion of US multinationals in the EU.
• Subsidiaries in the Netherlands employed 283 thousand people in 2022. In Germany, this was 775 thousand. US firms in the Netherlands mainly operate in wholesale and retail trade, specialised business services, and information and communication. For Germany, the information and communication, and manufacturing sectors have the most US multinationals.
• The Netherlands has invested ever more in the US over the past 20 years. The inward investment position was $147 billion in 2003, but had risen to $717 billion by 2023. This was the highest level in 20 years. By 2023, the Netherlands was the largest overseas investor in the US. However, when we look at the home country of the ultimate beneficial owner (UBO), the Netherlands drops to 8th place. Most Dutch investments went into US manufacturing, especially chemicals, and computers and electronic products.
• Conversely, in 2023, the Netherlands had the second highest amount of US investment; the UK ranked number 1. The US’s outward investment position in the Netherlands was $186 billion in 2003, but had risen to $980 billion by 2023. This was the highest level in 20 years. US outward direct investment in the Netherlands is mainly in holding companies, followed at some distance by manufacturing companies and companies in the financial sector.

References

Open references