Press release - French foreign trade results for the first half of 2022 (05 Aug. 2022)

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Olivier Becht, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade, Economic Attractiveness and French Nationals Abroad, attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, presented the foreign trade results for the first half of 2022, published today, Friday 5 August, by the General Directorate of Customs [and Excise] and the Banque de France.

While boasting excellent results in the services sector and continued economic attractiveness, France nevertheless shares the general deterioration in the trade balance in Europe. This deterioration is essentially due to the increased energy bill in the context of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and the impact of the pandemic on the aerospace and tourism sectors, which are key to our exports. France’s global market share, which was stable for about 10 years, thus declined slightly between 2019 and 2021 because of the pandemic, before stabilizing in the first quarter of 2022.

According to Olivier Becht, Minister Delegate attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, “in a world greatly disrupted since Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, France is experiencing the same fate as the main countries in the European Union: they’ve all seen their trade balance deteriorate since the beginning of 2022 as a result of the explosion in energy prices. But at the same time, our economy’s resilience has been confirmed: sectoral surpluses are growing stronger, the services surplus is breaking records and France is still Europe’s most economically attractive country. The crisis situation is forcing us to make more active efforts to support our export companies, particularly SMEs and mid-caps, thanks to Team France Export. I myself will be doing work on the ground tomorrow, going from ʺdoor to door” country by country, to promote our businesses. My priority will be to guarantee export markets for our strategic industries from the []? outset, and attract to France all the skills and investment we will need. Under the authority of the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, I intend to put this offensive economic diplomacy, which will rely on our diplomatic network and our [economic] operators, at the service of our industrial, digital and energy sovereignty, and thus contribute to the success of France 2030.”