Executive Summary

No year is without its share of events on the world stage, but in 2024 the world seemed to be in a constant state of turmoil. Geopolitical tensions continued to escalate on numerous fronts. In the Middle East, the conflict in Gaza intensified, Houthi rebels attacked cargo ships in the Red Sea and Israel launched an offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon. At the same time, Iran and Israel attacked one another with direct rocket fire, and the authoritarian Assad regime in Syria fell unexpectedly quickly. In Europe, the war in Ukraine became an exhausting war of attrition with no prospect of a quick resolution. Other conflicts, such as the ongoing violence in Sudan, received scant media attention – not because of their lesser impact, but because the world seemed increasingly unable to cope with so many crises and conflicts at one time. Beyond the human suffering caused, this geopolitical instability had direct consequences for the global economy, particularly for trade routes, commodity prices and investment flows.

At the same time, 2024 was also a year of economic aftershocks. Countries around the world were – to varying degrees – still recovering from the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. However, higher interest rates and inflation continued to depress household purchasing power in 2024. As a result, private consumption in many countries was still below pre-pandemic levels.

For an open economy like that of the Netherlands, these developments are significant. Because of our country’s interconnectedness with global chains, geopolitical tensions and changing economic power relations can have a direct impact on the Dutch business economy, trade flows and the earning power of our economy. In this edition of Nederland Handelsland 2025: Export, import & investeringen, we outline how the Netherlands has positioned itself in this dynamic global playing field using the latest figures.

Nederland Handelsland 2025: Export, import & investeringen is published by Statistics Netherlands’ Expertise Centre for Globalisation at the request of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It aims to provide objective information for a broad readership on internationalisation trends in the Netherlands’ economy with a particular emphasis on trade and business. It also provides independent data as input for the trade policy decisions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The publication provides data tables with annually recurring key figures as well as an outline of the main events behind these figures.

Below, we outline some of the main findings presented in this edition.noot1

Chapter 2: Major developments in 2023 and 2024

This chapter focuses on some important current developments: events or trends in the world that are affecting the Dutch economy and society. In the first part, we look at the potential for anticipation effects with respect to tariffs on exports to the US. The second part presents a comparison between global economic and/or military superpowers: the US, China, the EU, Russia and India. Dutch trade in military goods and dual-use goods is discussed in the third part.

Trump 2.0: anticipating impending import tariffs

• Unlike many other EU countries, the Netherlands has a trade deficit in goods with the US. The Netherlands had a deficit of €10.3 billion in its goods trade balance with the US in 2023 when we exclude re-exports from both imports and exports in addition to quasi-transit trade. The value of crude oil and natural gas imported from the US was particularly high. When we do not correct for re-exports, the trade balance in goods with the US is even more negative.
• US goods imports rose sharply in Q1 2025, with the total import value up by 25% compared to the same period of 2024. This could indicate an anticipation effect ahead of possible US import tariffs.
• The strong growth in US imports was driven mainly by a surge in goods from the EU, with a significant increase in imports of organic chemicals and pharmaceuticals, of which Ireland was the main supplier.
• Despite all the uncertainty, Dutch exports increased. Total exports to all countries combined increased in Q4 2024 and Q1 2025, though less sharply than exports to the US.
• Dutch exports to the US were 10.0% higher in Q4 2024 than they were in Q4 2023. For Q1 2025, we see growth of 16.6%. Higher-value exports of chip machinery and pharmaceuticals make up a large proportion of Dutch goods exports to the US.
• Dutch goods exports to Germany also saw strong growth, especially in Q1 2025 compared to Q1 2024.

How is the EU performing compared to the US, China, Russia and India?

• The US, the EU, China, Russia and India are major power blocks in the world, and together they account for two-thirds of global GDP.
• India is the only one of these five blocks with a rapidly growing labour force that will continue to grow as we approach 2050.
• The US has the largest economy of the five blocks, while the EU has had the lowest economic growth in recent years (2021–2024).
• The EU is the world’s largest trader in goods and services and also the largest investor in other regions.
• In terms of innovation, the US performs best by some distance, followed by China, then the EU, with Russia and India a long way behind.
• The EU scores best when it comes to quality of life and life satisfaction. This is followed by the US, with the other three a long way behind.
• In terms of sustainability, the EU has the best performance. India has the smallest ecological footprint, due to relatively high levels of poverty in that country.
• In geopolitical terms, the US is the most powerful country, while Russia has the largest mineral resources by value.

Trade in military goods and dual-use goods

• The Netherlands imported military goods worth €580.8 million in 2024, while its exports of military goods were worth €346 million. For both imports and exports, this was a record since measurements began in 2015. The trend continued into Q1 2025: military goods worth €148 million were imported, almost as much as in the whole of 2019. No previous first quarter on record had seen so many military goods imported and exported as Q1 2025.
• The sharp rise in the import value of military goods began in 2023, when imports increased by 87.6% over the previous year. In 2024, the export value also increased, by 63.6% compared to 2023.
• Germany was by far the most important country of origin of military goods coming into the Netherlands in 2024, with a 40% share.
• Motorised combat vehicles (and components) were the most imported goods in 2024 with an import value of €189.9 million. Weapons and ammunition worth €155.9 million were also imported. The import value of these two types of goods accounted for 60% of the import value of military goods.
• The picture for exports is similar; in 2024, motorised combat vehicles (and components) and weapons and ammunition were exported in particular.
• As well as military goods, ‘dual-use’ goods were also traded. These are goods that can be used for both civilian and military purposes, such as drones. The import and export value of these goods followed a similar pattern to non-dual-use goods. For instance, the import value of dual-use goods peaked at €201 billion in 2022. The export value peaked at €228 billion in the same year.
• Germany was the main customer for Dutch exports of dual-use goods, with €36.7 billion worth of these goods going to Germany in 2024. Looking solely at Dutch domestic exports, the US was the main buyer. Indeed, of exports to Germany, a relatively large share were re-exports.
• In 2024, the US was the main country of origin for Dutch imports of dual-use goods, followed closely by Germany and China.

Chapter 3: International trade in goods

Dutch goods exports in 2024

• Dutch goods exports declined by 1.8% in 2024, for a total of €666.5 billion. The drop in export value was mainly reflected in domestic exports.
• The decline in export value was largely explained by lower prices. Export prices were 1.7% below those in 2023. In terms of export volume, there was a 0.1% drop. Volume declines in mineral fuels and transport equipment (including passenger cars and buses) were offset by higher volumes in chemical products (including pharmaceuticals) and manufactured goods.
• Europe remained the Netherlands’ primary export destination, as in previous years, with 76.5% of Dutch export value going to European countries.
• Two-thirds of all goods exported by the Netherlands went to the other 27 EU member states, representing €439.9 billion by value. The EU was thus the Netherlands’ most important market for goods exports in 2024.
• Machines and equipment were the most exported items in 2024, followed by manufactured goods and mineral fuels.
• Of all the Netherlands’ goods exports, 53.8% went to the five main trading partners: Germany, Belgium, France, the UK and the US.
• There are clear differences between product categories when it comes to domestic exports (produced in the Netherlands) and re-exports (produced elsewhere). The category of transport equipment consisted of 72% domestic exports. Raw materials and natural products (including flowers and plants) and food and beverages also included a high share of domestic exports. In the case of manufactured goods and machines and equipment, re-exports were higher.
• The closer a destination country is to the Netherlands, the higher the share of re-exports. Neighbouring countries such as Germany (60%) and Belgium (55%) received more re-exports than other major trading partners such as the UK (38%), the US (30%) or China (16%).
• Refined petroleum products, specialised machinery and parts, and phones, modems and routers were the Netherlands’ top three export products by value in 2024.
• The export value of refined petroleum products fell sharply due to declines in both price and volume. The growth in the export value of specialised machinery was due to a slight increase in prices. The export value of phones, modems and routers was slightly up on 2023. Prices for these goods declined slightly on average, while export volumes increased slightly.
• The export value of medicines and pharmaceuticals was sharply higher in 2024, year on year. In both cases, this increase in value came from a rise in export volumes; in the case of pharmaceuticals, prices also increased.

Dutch goods imports in 2024

• Dutch goods imports fell by 3.3% more than goods exports in 2024. This brought imports to €585.8 billion.
• The decline in import value was mainly due to a drop in prices (–‍3.6%); in volume, there was a small increase (+‍0.3%). The volume decline in mineral fuels and transport equipment was offset by higher volume in chemical products and manufactured goods.
• Some 58% of all imported goods came from a European country. Of all regions, only the import value from Asia was higher in 2024 than in 2023.
• Of all goods imported by the Netherlands, 48% (or €279 billion) came from the other 27 EU member states. In 2024, Germany, the US and Belgium were the main trading partners for imports coming into the Netherlands.
• Machinery and manufactured goods were the most imported product categories, as in 2023.
• Half of total Dutch imports came from the Netherlands’ five main trading partners: Germany, the US, Belgium, China and the UK. Imports of chemical products, transport equipment and machinery were the most concentrated among these five import partners.
• Crude oil, refined petroleum products, and phones, modems and routers were the top three imports of the Netherlands in 2024.
• The decline in crude oil imports is largely explained by a decrease in volume, but also in part by lower prices. Imported refined petroleum products actually saw a volume increase combined with a price decrease, as did phones, modems and routers.
• Import values of computers and pharmaceuticals were sharply higher in 2024 than a year earlier. In both cases, that value growth came from a growth in import volume, although the price also increased.
• Natural gas saw a sharp decline in the import price. The Netherlands also imported less natural gas in terms of volume in 2024. Overall, the import value of natural gas fell by almost 56% compared to 2023.

The Netherlands as a supplier of goods to other countries in 2023

• The Netherlands accounted for 3.3% of global goods exports in 2023, ranking as the world’s fourth largest export country in 2023 (in terms of goods) after China (15.0%), the US and Germany.
• Of all imports into Belgium, over 21% came from the Netherlands in 2023, making the Netherlands the main country of origin for Belgian goods imports. For Germany, the Netherlands was the second most important goods supplier.
• Of all goods imported by other 27 EU member states, some 6.4% came from the Netherlands in 2023. This made the Netherlands the third most important supplier of goods for the other 27 EU member states.
• In 2023, the Netherlands had a higher share in goods imports from Ghana and France (among others) than it did in 2015. Ghana imported a higher value of refined petroleum products from the Netherlands, in particular. In the case of France, it was mainly mobile phones and medicinal and pharmaceutical products.
• The Dutch share in German and Nigerian goods imports was lower in 2023 than it was in 2015. The Netherlands was less important as a supplier of pharmaceutical products to Germany, while for Nigeria it supplied less refined petroleum products.

The Netherlands as a buyer of goods from other countries in 2023

• Globally, the Netherlands was the eighth largest goods importer in 2023, after the US (13.7%), China, Germany, the UK, France, Japan and India. The Netherlands had a 2.9% share in global goods imports in 2023.
• For Iceland, Nigeria and Ivory Coast, the Netherlands was the main export destination in 2023. In 2023, almost 36% of all goods exports from Iceland were destined for the Netherlands.
• Of all goods exported by other 27 EU member states, 4.8% were bound for the Netherlands in 2023. This made the Netherlands the sixth largest buyer of goods exports from the rest of the EU.
• The Netherlands had a higher share in exports from Guyana and Ireland (among others) in 2023 than it did in 2015. Guyana mainly exported a higher value of crude oil to our country. In the case of Ireland, these were mainly medicinal and pharmaceutical products.

Data sources

• The figures relating to the Netherlands are based on data from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) and are based on the concept of border crossing. These are movements of goods where the goods physically cross the Dutch border, even if a transfer of economic ownership is not always involved. Quasi-transit trade is not included in these figures. The most recent figures are from 2024.
• The figures from the international perspective are based on UN Comtrade data. The most recent figures are from 2023.

Chapter 4: International trade in services

Dutch services exports in 2024

• The Netherlands exported €306.6 billion worth of services to other countries in 2024, according to International Trade in Services Statistics. That was 4.3% more than in 2023.
• When we look at the services trade defined by the National Accounts – which excludes special purpose entities, among others – the increase was 6.5%. Export volume is estimated to have increased by 2.5% compared to 2023, while export prices were estimated to have increased by 4.0%. This means that the growth in export value can be attributed to both higher export prices and export volumes.
• With a share of 30%, business services were again the largest category of Dutch services exports by value in 2024. This category includes R&D, legal or accounting services, as well as business, technical or trade-related consultancy. Transport services and telecommunication, computer and information services complete the top three.
• Compared to 2023, transport services exports grew the fastest in terms of value (+‍€3.8 billion). The largest absolute decline was seen in business services exports: the export value of this category was €1 billion lower in 2024 than it was in 2023. The decline was particularly evident in technical, trade-related and other services.
• In 2024, as much as 69.4% of services exports were destined for Europe (51.4% to other EU countries) making Europe the most important export destination by far. 15.4% of export value went to the Americas and 12.4% to Asia.
• Germany, the US, the UK, Ireland and Switzerland were the main destinations for Dutch services exports in 2024; 47.8% of Dutch services exports went to these five largest export partners.
• The US was the main destination for business services from the Netherlands in 2024. For telecommunications, computer and information services exports, it was Ireland. In terms of value, Germany was the largest buyer of transport services from the Netherlands in 2024.

Dutch services imports in 2024

• Total Dutch services imports increased by 5.4% to €282.6 billion in 2024 compared to 2023, according to the International Trade in Services Statistics.
• When we look at the international trade in services defined by the National Accounts – which excludes the special purpose entities, among others – there was an increase of 5.7%. Import volume increased by 2.2% between 2023 and 2024, while the price increase was 3.4%.
• Business services dominated services imports in 2024, with a share of over 36%, followed by transport services and fees for the use of intellectual property.
• The import value of all service categories was higher in 2024 than it was in 2023, except for services related to the processing of goods and government services. The Netherlands purchased less of these two service categories in 2024. Imports of business services grew the fastest in absolute terms, by €6.4 billion.
• In 2024, 68.5% of Dutch services imports came from European countries. In 2024, Dutch services imports from Europe amounted to €193.5 billion, or 51.9% of the total services import value. Besides Europe, the import value from Asia also increased sharply. In 2024, Dutch services imports from Asian partners amounted to €24.4 billion.
• The US, UK, Germany, Ireland and France were the main countries of origin for Dutch services imports in 2024; 57.0% of Dutch services imports came from these five import partners.
• The UK was the main supplier of business services to the Netherlands in 2024. The main supplier of imported transport services was Germany. By value, the US and Ireland were our largest suppliers of intellectual property in 2024.

The Netherlands as an international service provider in 2023

• The international figures come from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The most recent figures are from 2023.
• The Netherlands supplied 3.6% of all services exported worldwide in 2023, making it the world’s seventh largest services exporter. The US is the leading supplier of services in the world, by far.
• Of all countries, Belgium imports the most services from the Netherlands: in 2023, 14.4% of Belgium’s total services imports came from the Netherlands. The Dutch share in France’s services imports grew relatively strongly in 2023 – by 0.7 percentage points compared to 2022. This growth was mainly in business services.

The Netherlands as an international service consumer in 2023

• The Netherlands accounted for 3.8% of global services imports in 2023, making it the world’s seventh largest services importer by value. The US, Germany and the UK imported the most services globally. Although its share decreased in 2023, the US remains by far the world’s largest importer of services.
• Of all countries, Barbados exports the most services to the Netherlands as a proportion of its total services exports; 21.2% of the Caribbean island’s services exports are to the Netherlands. Belgium and Romania are other countries that export a high share of their services exports to the Netherlands.

Chapter 5: Foreign direct investment and multinationals

Financial interconnectedness with other countries (DNB)

• The Netherlands remains an attractive location for multinationals. Although a number of originally Dutch multinationals have moved abroad in recent years (such as Shell and Unilever), new multinationals such as Universal Music Group and Stellantis have also relocated to the Netherlands.
• The total value of shares listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange was almost €1.4 trillion (120% of GDP) by the end of 2024. Only the stock markets of Luxembourg and Ireland are larger in comparison to the GDP of their respective countries. The shares in circulation on the Dutch stock exchange are highly internationally oriented: only 10% are in Dutch hands.
• The Netherlands has had a current account surplus for many years; over the whole of 2024, that surplus amounted to €103 billion. This is mainly due to the international trade in goods but also, to a lesser extent, trade in services.
• The Netherlands has built up a substantial asset position abroad in recent years: at the end of 2024, this position amounted to €697 billion, or 62% of GDP. The asset position and the very substantial underlying assets and liabilities illustrate the international interconnectedness of the Dutch economy with other countries.
• The Netherlands’ interconnectedness with other countries is partly due to its role as a conduit country for international capital. In recent years, measures have been introduced to discourage tax avoidance in the Netherlands by multinationals, and the balance sheets of these conduit companies have declined accordingly.
• Despite the reduction of conduit activities, the Netherlands remains in the global top three when it comes to direct investment positions. In 2024, total inward investment increased by 1.7% to €3,527 billion and outward investment increased by 1.0% to €4,340 billion. More than 95% of direct investment was through non-financial corporations and conduit companies; the Netherlands’ largest investment partners were the US, the UK and Germany.

Multinationals in the Netherlands

• There were 27.1 thousand multinationals in the Netherlands in 2023, representing 1.7% of the Dutch business economy. Around one-third of these firms are Dutch multinationals, two-thirds are foreign multinationals.
• Most multinationals in the Dutch business economy – over a third – are in wholesale and retail. At 17% and 14%, respectively, most multinationals operate in specialised business services and manufacturing.
• In 2023, around 2.5 million people in the Netherlands worked for a multinational, which means that around 1 in 3 jobs in the Dutch business economy was with a multinational. With 4.3 million people employed in the Netherlands, most people still worked for non-multinational firms.
• Dutch multinationals had an average of 129 persons on the payroll. The average number of employed persons on the payroll of a foreign multinational was almost half that, at 73. The average non-multinational firm had an average of 3 employees on the payroll.
• For both multinationals and the Dutch business economy as a whole, most employment was created by the wholesale and retail sector in 2023.
• With 3,350 firms, most foreign multinationals came from the US. Germany and the UK followed in second and third place, respectively.
• When Belgium, France, Switzerland, Sweden and Denmark are also included, we can say that around 52% of foreign multinationals come from closer to home.
• Around two-thirds of the total Dutch import value and export value of goods came from foreign multinationals in 2023. This represents an import value of €340.3 billion and an export value of €303.1 billion.
• Foreign multinationals accounted for around three-quarters of the total import value of the services trade in 2023 (€172.7 billion). The export value was similar at €173.0 billion.
• In 2023, 70% of multinationals were two-way traders: they imported as well as exported goods and/or services. Among non-multinationals, by contrast, around two-thirds of firms did not engage in any international trade at all.

Dutch multinationals abroad

• The most subsidiaries of Dutch multinationals are still found in Germany. Although the number of subsidiaries of Dutch multinationals in Germany decreased by around 7% from 2022 to 2023 to 3,368 firms, Germany remains in first place.
• The total number of Dutch subsidiaries abroad declined. There were 22.7 thousand Dutch subsidiaries worldwide in 2022, but the number fell to 20.9 thousand in 2023.
• At 457 thousand people, the largest number of people were employed by subsidiaries of Dutch multinationals in the US in 2023. Germany followed in second place.
• Although almost all the top ten investment countries saw a decline in the number of people employed by subsidiaries of Dutch multinationals abroad from 2022 to 2023, Belgium actually saw a slight increase to 98 thousand employees.
• With over €1 million per FTE, the highest turnover per FTE in 2023 was generated by subsidiaries of Dutch multinationals in France. Subsidiaries of Dutch multinationals in the US and the UK were in second and third place, with 811.6 thousand and 522.5 thousand euros per FTE respectively.

Chapter 6: Dutch earnings from exports

Contribution of exports to GDP

• Dutch goods and services exports amounted to €945.2 billion in 2023, down 1.4% from 2022.
• The value of goods exports fell by 4%. More specifically, the value of re-exports fell by more (almost 5%) than the export value of domestic exports (3%). This was due to lower volume and prices.
• The export value of services actually increased in 2023 compared to 2022: by almost 6% to a value of €268.3 billion. This was mainly due to price increases.
• Despite the smaller total gross export value, earnings from exports were €375.9 billion in 2023: almost 6% higher than a year earlier.
• After a decline in export earnings per euro of gross exports in 2022, the relative export earnings from domestic exports, re-exports and services rose again in 2023 to 51, 12 and 63 cents per euro of exports, respectively.
• 35.2% of Dutch GDP was earned from goods and services exports in 2023, down slightly from 2022 (35.7%).
• In 2023, the Netherlands’ GDP grew by just 0.08%. Lower production and lower exports of natural gas played a major role in this. Domestic exports from industries such as chemicals, agriculture and metals also made a negative contribution to GDP.
• Business sectors that traditionally earn a great deal from exports are manufacturing, business services and trade. They saw their earnings rise further in 2023. The mining and quarrying, chemical and petroleum industries saw their earnings decline due to the normalisation of prices following the spike of 2022.
• Specialised machinery remains the largest category in domestic exports. Compared to a year earlier, earnings from specialised machinery originating from the Netherlands rose by 22% in 2023.
• The Netherlands earned the most from exports to Germany, the UK, the US, Belgium and France. After a decline in 2022, the importance of China as an export destination increased again in 2023.

Employment related to exports

• 31.4% of employment (or 2.6 million full-time jobs) in the Netherlands is related to exports. This includes 1.2 million direct and 1.4 million indirect full-time jobs. As such, international sales markets were just as important in 2023 as they were in 2022.
• In 2023, capital-intensive industries such as manufacturing and mining and quarrying made a relatively large contribution to export services, while their share of export-related employment remained limited. Mining and quarrying accounted for 2.3% of total export services: exports generated few jobs in that industry.
• Exports create significantly more employment in labour-intensive sectors: in business services, 29.1% of total employment is related to exports. In agriculture, forestry and fishing, exports generated proportionally more employment than earnings. In other sectors, the shares are similar.
• In business services and trade, a great deal of indirect employment is generated thanks to exports, because exporting firms purchase these services. By contrast, in manufacturing, many jobs are directly dependent on exports.
• As with export services, the top 5 export destinations that provide employment are Germany, the UK, the US, Belgium and France.
• Most export-related labour hours worked are in business and administrative jobs, followed by technical and commercial jobs. Within agriculture, the highest proportion of export-related labour hours (52% of all hours worked in agricultural jobs) are spent on exports in relative terms. The share is also relatively high for jobs in transport and logistics and in ICT.
• Most export-related labour hours are worked by men, those with a lower level of education and self-employed persons, in relative terms.

Data sources

• In this chapter, we use figures from Statistics Netherlands’ National Accounts. This makes it possible to provide an insight into the actual economic revenues from exports. At the time of writing, National Accounts data are available up to and including 2023.
• The National Accounts focus on the concept of change of ownership. These are goods transactions in which a Dutch firm or person transfers economic ownership of the goods to a foreign firm or person, and vice versa.
• Partly because of this, the figures in this chapter differ from those reported in Chapters 2 and 3, which are based on the concept of border crossing. These are movements of goods where the goods physically cross the border of the Netherlands, even if this does not involve a transfer of ownership.

Chapter 7: Use of imports in the Dutch economy

Distribution of goods and services imports

• The infographic at the beginning of this chapter shows what happens to imports that enter the Netherlands. In 2023, the Netherlands imported €826 billion worth of goods and services from abroad. Of these imports, €591.8 billion euros consisted of goods and €234.1 billion euros of services.
• A considerable share of the total import value of goods and services (37%) found its way directly back abroad in the form of re-exports in 2023. This overwhelmingly involved goods. Imported goods and services destined for direct domestic expenditures accounted for 11% and 4% of the total import value, respectively. Intermediate goods and services imports are used by firms in the Netherlands to produce goods and provide services, and had shares of 28% and 21% respectively.
• Compared to 2022, the import value of goods and services fell by €45 billion (–‍5%) in 2023. In particular, goods imports saw a decline in value of €58.4 billion (–‍9%). Prices of imported goods fell by 6% in 2023 compared to the previous year, while volume declined by 3%.

Composition and origin of goods imports

• Approximately 47% of goods imports (€276.7 billion) were intended for re-export in 2023. Imported goods destined for direct domestic expenditures such as household consumption and business investments, had a value of €87.2 billion. Intermediate goods imports amounted to €227.9 billion in 2023. Of these intermediate goods imports, 32% were further processed by firms in the Netherlands into goods or services for sale on the domestic market. This means that the remaining 68% were exported after processing in the Netherlands.
• In 2023, petroleum and petroleum products were the most important category of goods imports intended for re-export, followed by various manufactured goods. In intermediate goods imports, petroleum and natural gas were the categories of groups with the highest import value. Goods imports for direct domestic expenditures were dominated by vehicles and natural gas.
• Imported goods intended for re-export in 2023 mainly originated from Germany and China. For the import of intermediate goods, Germany, the US and Belgium are the Netherlands’ main import partners. For imported goods destined for direct domestic expenditures, the main import partners are Germany and Belgium.
• After the sharp price increases of 2022, most sectors saw falling prices in 2023. Prices in the petroleum industry and the chemical industry dropped, for instance. In general, the price drops seen in 2023 were relatively small compared to the price increases recorded in the previous year.

Composition and origin of services imports

• Services imports for direct domestic expenditures had a value of €34.3 billion in 2023. Intermediate services imports amounted to €166.7 billion in 2023. Of this, 38% were further processed by firms in our country to produce goods or services to be sold on the domestic market. This means that the remaining 62% of services imports were exported after processing in the Netherlands.
• Business services were the largest category in intermediate service imports, of which 59% were further processed into exported goods or services. Services imports for direct domestic expenditures consisted of €20.8 billion in travel and €5.9 billion in business services.
• For intermediate services imports, the US and the UK remained the main import partners. Services imports for direct domestic expenditures came mainly from Germany and the US.

The importance of imports for Dutch exports

• The import content of Dutch exports was 48.9% in 2023, compared to 52.1% in 2022. This decrease in import content is partly explained by lower import prices for raw materials and fuels.
• Prices of imported goods that were processed into domestic exports fell by 9.7% in 2023, while export prices fell by 0.9%. As a result, the Netherlands retained €0.23 more per €1 of exports in 2023 compared to 2022. Prices of services imports processed into service exports rose in line with the export prices of services.
• Domestic export volumes fell by 2.2% in 2023, with the required import volume of goods also falling by 1.7%. The import of goods required to produce domestic exports in the period between 2021 and 2023 saw the largest price increase, but also the largest decline in volume.

International links through Dutch imports and exports

• The Netherlands is an important hub for intraregional trade within the European internal market. A large share of the imports that were processed into exports – €44.4 billion, accounting for 12.4% of total imports for intermediate consumption) – came from another EU member state and were then also forwarded to a different (or the same) member state.
• Outside the EU, the United States (€27.1 billion) and the United Kingdom (€14.8 billion) were again the most important suppliers of imported goods that were processed by firms in the Netherlands.

Analysing export-related imports in more detail

• In 2023, a total of €51.0 billion in imported raw materials and mineral fuels and €17.5 billion in imported machinery and transport equipment were needed to produce exports. The EU supplied 45% of the goods imported that were required for Dutch exports. For the import of raw materials and mineral fuels processed into exports, the EU’s share was significantly lower at 22%. For the other categories, the EU’s share was over 50%.
• In 2023, a total of €27.7 billion in imported business services and €13.8 billion in imported transport services were needed to produce exports. Approximately 53% of the imported services in 2023 came from the EU. As with goods, the EU’s share was above 50% in most service categories. Only in the case of royalties was the EU’s share in the imports used to produce exports significantly lower, at 38%.

Chapter 8: Footprint of Dutch imports

• Overall, more was imported by value in 2021 than in 2020, and the greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint of imports also increased. However, the material footprint and land use footprint of Dutch imports decreased.
• Goods imports generally have a larger footprint than services imports. However, the reduction in the material and land use footprint of Dutch imports cannot be explained by a fall in goods imports, since these increased by 21% in value and by almost 9% in volume.
• Of the imports that remain in the Netherlands (i.e. imports for direct domestic expenditures and those that are incorporated into products that are consumed in the Netherlands), both the land use footprint and the material footprint was smaller.
• In particular, less arable land was used for imports that are consumed in the Netherlands. On the one hand 2021 was a productive agricultural year, but on the other hand prices rose, which may explain why the volume of agricultural imports fell compared to 2020.
• With respect to the Netherlands’ material footprint, only the use of fossil fuels increased. This was the case for both imports that remain in the Netherlands and imports that leave the Netherlands again. The increase in the volume of imports of petroleum and petroleum products was the main reason for this increase, and imports only fell after 2021.
• The GHG footprint of imports increased slightly compared to 2020. The GHG footprint of imports of computers and electronics for direct domestic expenditures increased sharply from 4.6 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalents to 6.3 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalents.
• The GHG footprint of imports of agricultural products for direct domestic expenditures also increased from 8.1 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalents to 9.3 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalents.
• By contrast, the GHG footprint of intermediate imports of agricultural products processed into products remaining in the Netherlands decreased from 9.3 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalents to 6.6 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalents.