Adjustments to Export and Import Strategies in Markets Outside the EU

Supply bottlenecks and uncertainties arising from geopolitical conflicts and the protectionist practices of key trading partners have increased in recent years. The results of this survey show that around half of the companies surveyed have not altered – or do not intend to alter – the export and import strategies they have pursued to date for markets outside the EU. Although no dominant adjustment strategy emerges from the survey results, the findings suggest that, in the case of exports, the primary response has been price restraint and a review of contract terms, whilst for imports, the response has involved individual measures, adjustments to stock levels and a review of import contract terms. The survey results regarding changes in strategy concerning production sites in countries outside the EU are limited by a small sample size, but fit well with the broader survey findings, which show that no trend towards relocating production back to the EU is observable.