Trends in Trade and Investment Flows between the EU and the BRIC Countries

In this paper, we intend to present an in-depth comparative analysis of the trade and investment flows between the EU member states and the four strongest emerging countries: Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC), during 2004-2009(1) and beyond. In the EU-BRIC equation, we include for comparison countries like the USA and Japan, and their respective relations with BRIC. The purpose of the paper is to contribute to the discussion of the integrated issues related to trade and investments, since the EU-BRIC relations represent one of the most important „pieces” in this „global puzzle”. First, relying on the statistics published by Eurostat, the WTO, the UNCTAD and the national authorities, our study highlights the main trends of the trade and investment flows between the EU and BRIC, in comparison with those of the USA and BRIC or Japan and BRIC. Second, we emphasize the principal factors that contributed to these developments and their economical consequences. For example, the global economical situation, the political decisions, the resource scarcity or the (still) existing fiscal paradises play a major role in the celerity and magnitude of the trade and investment flows. Third, on the basis of the actual data and information, our analysis outlines the perspectives of the EU-BRIC trade and investment relations in the long run. Following this rationale, the paper is structured around three main sections, followed by a summary of the conclusions of the author.