Saturday, February 18, 2017

Hanseatic Countries and International Institutions

- Belarus had free trade with Russia in the mid-1990’s and growth was rapid. Russia continues to be its largest trade partner.  Many raw supplies are imported from Russia; then turned into finished products and either exported back to Russia or sent elsewhere.  Along with the Union with Russia; they are involved in the Eurasian Economic Community.  The graph on the Belarus Wikipedia site (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarus) shows a staggering graphic of the growth of GDP vs. the inflation rate.  It is alarming how these numbers have trended the past four years.  You can see it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarus#/media/File:Belarus__Annual_GDP_and_CPI_rates_2001-2013.jpg.  They are members of CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States).  

- Belgium is one of the founding members of the European Union and is a strong supporter of an open economy.  The country is highly industrialized but is now more focused on services as opposed to manufactured goods.  They still export a large number of goods, but the economy is heavily focused on services.  The European Union and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) are headquartered in Belgium.  It is in the heart of the European economy and has experienced steady growth.  Due to its location it receives many travelers and has become a popular location because it has a well-developed transportation system.  They are members of EU, WTO, and OECD.  To read more on Belgium you can go to this website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium

- Estonia is part of the European Union and their economic stability and growth is very closely tied to the economies of Sweden and Finland.  Estonia has had a balanced budget for many years and is usually in surplus.  Energy is its main export.  Most of which is produced by oil shale.  They are members of EU, WTO, and OECD.  To read more on Estonia you can go to this website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estonia

- Germany has a social market economy, which is the largest national economy in Europe.  It is highly involved in information technology along with still being a large player in the automotive industry.  Their main exports are automobiles, chemicals, transport equipment, and electronic products to name a few.  They are members of EU, WTO, and OECD.  To read more on Germany you can go to this website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany

- Latvia has had to undertake a restructuring of their economy since 2009.  Many businesses in a multitude of industries were turned over to the state and now most have been returned to the private sector.  The government still is in control of the largest energy company, an oil transportation company, and the country’s largest telecom company.  It has no plans to privatize these companies at this time.  This has led to stability for the government and the economy.  However it is still effected by slow foreign investments due to laws that make it difficult to do so.  They are members of EU and WTO.  To read more on Latvia you can go to this website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latvia

- Lithuania was called the Baltic Tiger pre-2009 because of their economic performance, but then a dramatic decline hit the country.  It is slowly rebuilding its economy with an emphasis on biotechnology.  The country has a flat tax system where both individuals and corporations are tax at a 15% rate.  This has drawn many companies to invest there.  Their main exports are mineral products, electrical equipment, and chemical products.  They are members of EU and WTO.  To read more on Lithuania you can go to this website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithuania  

- The Netherlands have very close ties to Germany, Belgium, UK, United States, France, Italy, China, and Russia. It was ranked the 3rd in the Global Enabling Trade Report in 2014 and it is in the top 10 of leading exporting countries. Foodstuffs is the largest sector. Some other industries included are chemicals, metallurgy, machinery, electrical goods, trade, service, and tourism. To read more about the Netherlands, click here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands

- Norway is the second wealthiest country in the world when it comes to monetary value. They are also the second highest GDP per capita in the European countries and 6th in the GDP per capita in the world. They are a part of the OECD organization and in 2013, they are ranked the 4th equalized Better Life Index. Norway has a mixed economy – a prosperous capitalist welfare state and social democracy this features a combination of free market activity and large state ownership. To read more about Norway, click here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway

- Poland has connections to the EU; Poland is considered the fastest growing country in the EU. Germany is their main partner in the trading business. It is a market-based economy with major exports being machinery, furniture, food products, clothing, shoes, and cosmetics. Their sensitive sectors include coal, steel, rail transport, and energy. The private farms in the agricultural sector has tons of potential to become the leading producer in the EU. To read more about Poland, click here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poland

- Russia’s economy is a developed, high –income market. It has tons of natural resources like oil and natural gas. Russia is the 15th largest economy in the nominal GDP and 6th in the PPP. 80% of Russian exports are made up of oil, natural gas, metals, and timbers. Unfortunately, Russia has 12.8% of their residences under the poverty line. In 2014, their unemployment rate was 5.4%. To read more about Russia, click here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia

- Sweden has an export-oriented mixed economy. Sweden is strongly affiliated with OECD and has connections with the United States, Norway, the UK, Denmark, and Finland. They have a strong importance for foreign trade, trading timber, hydropower and iron ore constitute. Their engineering sector makes up half of their output and exports. But, telecommunications, automotive industry and pharmaceutical industry also play a great part of the output and export. To learn more about Sweden, click here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden

- United Kingdom is the 5th largest national economy in GDP and 9th largest in the world measured by PPP. London's one of the top three command centers of the global economy, New York and Tokyo are the first two. Tourism plays a huge role in the British economy, the UK is the 6th major tourist destination. The UK is part of the EU organization. To learn more about the United Kingdom you can read here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom

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