The Dutch trade surplus with the rest of the world rose to €52 billion ($56.67 billion) in 2016, with transshipments accounting for €20 billion of the total, national statistics agency CBS said on Monday, Dutch News reported. Excluding transshipments–the re-export of goods via the Netherlands–the trade surplus has grown from €18billion to €32 billion over the past 10 years, the CBS said. The growth is largely due to food exports and the export of expensive chip making machinery by ASML. Despite the large share of the surplus due to transshipments, they only account for around 4% of GDP, while the export of Dutch products accounts for 17%, the CBS said. If the Netherlands is to continue to grow as an international trading country, then it must have the best fiscal investment climate in Europe, according to a report by the semi-governmental Dutch Trade & Investment Board. The DTIB report also said that talented students, start-ups, entrepreneurs, skilled laborers and scientists should be encouraged to remain in the Netherlands.
