China in pole
The first question we ask ourselves when faced with this study is what we mean by “dependence“The Planning Bureau defines it as a good.”if it is imported from, or exported to a very limited number of countries, mainly located outside the EU.“
For Belgium, the study highlights that the country is heavily dependent on non-EU countries for around 5 to 6% of imports – out of more than 9,000 different imported goods. A relatively low percentage which has stabilized over the last ten years according to the study. For these goods, it is China that stands out. Belgium is heavily dependent on more than 400 goods, mainly in the electronics and motor vehicle sectors. In the ranking of the number of goods coming from countries on which Belgium is dependent, it is the United States and the United Kingdom which follow China on the podium.
Strategic assets
But the Planning Office distinguishes among these imported goods, “goods considered strategic“. What are we talking about here? Mainly chemicals and metals. About “9,000 goods imported by Belgium, the study identifies 81 strategic goods for which dependence on imports is persistent.“Concretely, Belgium has been counting on these countries for several years to import a specific strategic good.
This is the case, for example, for cortisone (from the United States), aluminum ores (China) or even extracts of glands and other organs or their secretions, from animals, to organo-therapeutic purposes (United States) For these goods, China loses its first place, it is the United States on which Belgium is most dependent. But the study still warns: “dependence on the United States for strategic goods is decreasing, while dependence on China is increasing.“
Limited exports
More than imports, Belgium also exports more than 8,000 goods. But Belgium is clearly less dependent on countries outside the European Union. As the study points out, “the number of strategic goods for which Belgium is highly dependent represents approximately 1% of all goods exported“.
There are, however, some strategic goods for which Belgium’s dependence on these countries is persistent. We are talking here, for example, about hormones – both natural and synthetic – destined for the United States or gold waste and scraps heading to Switzerland. In total, the list of this type of property recorded by the Planning Bureau only includes 25 properties. With the main destination being the United States.
