Macroeconomics and Trade in the Baltic States

On Tuesday, April 3, the White House will host a summit with the Presidents of the three Baltic nations: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The focus of this historic US-Baltic summit will be security, business, trade, and energy. Formerly occupied and incorporated into the Soviet Union throughout most of the 20th century, the Baltic nations or Baltic States regained their national independence in 1991. Since then, the Baltic nations have all joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union as well as adopted the Euro as their official currency.

Geographically, the Baltic nations are also at the forefront of northeastern Europe’s defensive line against Russia, with whom all three have a hostile history. The largest one being Lithuania and the smallest Estonia, the Baltic nations have a total territory of approximately 175.200 square kilometers, which is almost the size of Missouri. Moreover, all three Baltic nations have an aggregate population of 6.1 million citizens.

Macroeconomics and Trade in the Baltic States

Economically, Latvia has a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of US$53.5 billion (PPP), Lithuania has a GDP of US$90.6 billion (PPP), and Estonia has a GDP of US$41.2 billion (PPP), for an aggregate total of US$185.3 billion for the Baltic nations. In terms of trade, Latvia is the world’s sixty-third largest trade economy. During 2016, the country exported a total of US$11.4 billion and imported US$13.5 billion, which resulted in a trade deficit of US$2.1 billion. Moreover, Latvia’s main export, representing 5.7% or US$652 million of the country’s total in 2016, was sawn wood. Likewise, the country’s main import that same year, representing 5.9% or US$799 million of all international purchases, was refined petroleum. Meanwhile, Latvia’s main trading partners are fellow EU members, notably Lithuania, Estonia, Germany, and Poland, as well as Russia.

In the case of Lithuania, the country is the world’s forty-eighth largest export economy. During 2016, the country imported US$27.2 billion worth of goods and exported US$24.9 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of US$2.2 billion. Furthermore, Lithuania’s main export, representing 13% or US$3.2 billion of the country’s total in 2016, was refined petroleum. Similarly, the country’s main import that same year, representing 10% or US$2.7 billion of all international purchases, was crude petroleum. Meanwhile, Lithuania’s main trading partners are also fellow EU members, namely Latvia, Poland, Germany, and Estonia, as well as Russia.

Lastly, Estonia is the world’s fifty-seventh largest export economy. During 2016, the country imported US$14.9 billion worth of goods and exported US$13.9 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of US$1 billion. Moreover, Estonia’s main export, representing 9.8% or US$1.4 billion of the country’s total in 2016, were telephones. Likewise, the country’s main import that same year, representing 7.3% or US$1.1 billion of all international purchases, was refined petroleum. Similarly, Estonia’s main trading partners are also fellow EU members, namely Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, Finland, and Sweden, as well as Russia.

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