World Trade Flows, 2001 (billion $US)

The recent decades have seen important modifications in international trading flows. The bulk of international trade occurs within economic blocs, especially the European Union and NAFTA. Other significant flows are between Asia / Pacific and North America (especially the United States), between Europe and North America and between Europe and Asia / Pacific. For several reasons, such as geographical proximity (Eastern Europe), energy (Middle East) and colonial legacy (Africa), the European Union has significant trading linkages with the "rest of the world". North America, also maintains important trade linkages with Latin America. Another important characteristic of the contemporary commercial setting concerns imbalances in trade flows. For instance, it is clear on the above figure that the Asia / Pacific region exports more than it imports and that North America imports more than it exports.