Chetverikova A.S. THE EU FOREIGN TRADE: TRANSFORMATION OF EXPORT FLOWS

The Bulletin of the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences № 1/2026. World Economy and international economic relations.

Anna S. Chetverikova

Cand. Sci. (Econ.), Head of the Center for European Studies, Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the RАS (IMEMO), Moscow, Russia

ORCID: 0000-0003-4793-4145

THE EU FOREIGN TRADE: TRANSFORMATION OF EXPORT FLOWS

156-172

398.06 K

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The article presents an analysis of foreign trade’s development of the EU for the last decades. The main tendencies including the weakening of the EU positions in world trade are shown. Using the Revealed Comparative Advantage Index (RCA), trends in export competitiveness of the EU member states have been assessed. The key differences between groups of countries including the emergence of new leaders and relatively stable positions of large economies are identified. Based on RCA’s dynamics the conclusion is made that the EU integration of the Visegrad countries hasn’t had a clear positive effect on its export opportunities in terms of competitiveness. It is demonstrated that the most competitive export goods of the EU member states are not always goods of their main traditional global sector specialization. Taking into account three indicators (Herfindahl-Hirschman Index, share of key goods in total export, quantity of export goods) groups of countries with different tendencies in its export diversification are identified.

Keywords: European Union, EU member states, foreign trade, export dynamics, competitiveness, export flow specialization, export flow diversification.

JEL: F10

EDN: QECCSC

DOI: https://doi.org/10.52180/2073-6487_2026_1_156_172

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Manuscript submission date: 10.11.2025

Manuscript acceptance date: 24.02.2026

For citation:

Chetverikova A.S. The EU foreign trade: transformation of export flows // Vestnik Instituta Ekonomiki Rossiyskoy Akademii Nauk. 2026. № 1 Pp. 156-172. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.52180/2073-6487_2026_1_156_172 EDN: QECCSC

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