Foreign Trade in Figures

France is a major actor in global trade. It is the world's ninth exporter and seventh importer of merchandise (WTO), and trade represents 73% of its GDP (World Bank, latest data available). France exports essentially aircraft, pharmaceutical products, vehicles, food products (wine), turbines and beauty products; while it imports hydrocarbons, vehicles, pharmaceutical products and telephones (Comtrade). In 2022, energy import prices surged by 2.1 times compared to the prior year, attributed to heightened energy supply costs and the euro's depreciation against the dollar, resulting in a more than twofold increase in the energy bill. Gas imports soared by 248% to EUR 59 billion, crude oil jumped by 99% to EUR 33 billion, and petroleum products climbed by 60% to EUR 38 billion. As per exports, agricultural products have demonstrated one of the strongest performances with a 37% increase; while automobile exports have rebounded to nearly 97% of 2019 levels. Additionally, France's traditional export sectors have all recorded surpluses: aviation (+EUR 23.5 billion); perfumes and cosmetics (growing by EUR 2 billion to reach +EUR 15 billion); beverages (increasing by EUR 16 billion); and the pharmaceuticals sector (adding EUR 3 billion – data INSEE).

In terms of countries, the main exports destinations in 2022 were Germany (13.7%), Italy (9.2%), the United States (7.9%), Belgium (7.9%), Spain (7.6%), the United Kingdom (5.7%), and the Netherlands (4.2%), whereas imports came chiefly from Germany (13.7%), Italy (9.2%), the United States (7.9%), Belgium (7.9%), Spain (7.6%), and the United Kingdom (5.7% - data Comtrade).

France registers a strong structural trade deficit. Nevertheless, while the goods balance is structurally in deficit as the country is a net energy importer, the services balance is in surplus thanks to tourism revenues. According to WTO data, in 2022, France exported goods with a total value of USD 617.8 billion (+5.6% y-o-y), while it imported for USD 818.2 billion (+14.4% y-o-y). As for the services, France exported around USD 337.1 billion (+11.9% y-o-y), while imports stood at USD 285.8 billion (+10.6% y-o-y). The overall trade balance was estimated to be negative by 3.9% of GDP by the World Bank (from 1.9% one year earlier). According to the latest data published by INSEE, in the first semester of 2023, goods exports decreased slightly (-0.8% compared to the second half of 2022), while imports saw a more significant decline (-9.4%). Despite this, trade volumes increased notably, with goods and services exports rising by 2.6% in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the first quarter, while imports stabilized with a 0.4% increase. France's exchanges with the rest of the world improved, resulting in a EUR 30 billion reduction in the deficit of the current account for the first half of 2023 (to EUR -9.6 billion).