Changes of the Visegrad Group countries’ foreign trade since their accession to the EU

• Authors: Kawecka-Wyrzykowska Elżbieta
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The aim of this article is to identify the most important changes in Visegrad Group (V4) countries’ trade, with particular stress on changes in Poland’s foreign trade. In the pre-accession period, the V4 group had high expectations of accelerated trade development due to the prospect of completely free access to the huge market of the enlarged European Union (EU). This analysis has demonstrated that the fastest growth of V4 countries’ trade occurred in their relations with partners from outside the EU, and not in intra-EU trade (especially in the first period after accession). Poland recorded the highest increases in trade with almost all partners of V4 countries. Two identical products (cars and their parts) were at the forefront of export and import in all V4 countries, both in 2004 and 2023, and their share has increased. An important driving force behind the growth of trade of the V4 countries and the increase in benefits from international exchange has been their inclusion in global value chains. Recent shocks in the global economy have highlighted not only positive but also negative effects of producers' high involvement in global value chains.

Keywords

EN

Visegrad Group; V4 trade; European Union; EU accession

• Publisher: Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Studiów Międzynarodowych, Uniwersytet Warszawski
• Journal: Przegląd Europejski
• Year: 2024
• Issue: 2(72)
• Pages: 7 - 28

Dates

published

2024

Contributors

author

Kawecka-Wyrzykowska Elżbieta

• SGH Warsaw School of Economics

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