Czechoslovak foreign trade has traditionally involved the import of raw materials, oil and gas, and semi-manufactured products and the export of semi-finished products and consumer and capital goods. In 1989, trade with former Eastern bloc nations accounted for 56% of Czechoslovakia's total foreign trade; by the end of 1992 their share had more than halved to 27%.
Today, the Czech Republic engages in the export of numerous manufactured goods that are used in the production of automobiles, furniture, and electrical appliances. The manufacturing of metals, including iron and steel plates and sheets, and base metal bring in 5.7% of export dues. The road vehicle industry results in 15.6% of exports. Other export commodities include textiles (4.3%), glassware (which the country is famous for producing—1.6%), furniture (2.7%), and electrical machinery (2.9%). A majority of these products are exported to Germany.
In 2000 the Czech Republic's imports were distributed among the following categories:
Consumer goods | 14.1% |
Food | 4.0% |
Fuels | 9.5% |
Industrial supplies | 32.4% |
Machinery | 28.7% |
Transportation | 11.2% |
Other | 0.1% |
Principal trading partners in 2000 (in millions of US dollars) were as follows:
COUNTRY | EXPORTS | IMPORTS | BALANCE |
Germany | 11,752 | 10,380 | 1,372 |
Slovakia | 2,230 | 1,933 | 297 |
Austria | 1,735 | 1,589 | 146 |
Poland | 1,578 | 1,149 | 429 |
United Kingdom | 1,246 | 1,330 | -84 |
France | 1,168 | 1,597 | -398 |
Italy | 1,101 | 1,664 | -429 |
United States | 818 | 1,421 | -603 |
Netherlands | 668 | 752 | -84 |
Russia | 387 | 2,079 | -1,692 |
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