In billions of dollars and in % of all exports.
Source: WTO

International Trade of Merchandises, 2003

The recent decades have seen important changes in international trading flows. The bulk of international trade occurs within economic blocs, especially within 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.

Three major poles account for the majority of the global trade, about 80% of all exports. Most of this trade is however regional in scale, particularly within the European Union (EU) where close to 62% of all exports are taking place between its members. The vastness of Asia as a statistical unit partially hides a higher level of export dependency than the 50% figure. Trade imbalances, notably between Asia and North America, are particularly prevalent.

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