The energy crisis alone does not explain the debacle of foreign trade

These are figures that we would not have imagined a few years ago, or even a few months ago.

The French trade deficit will reach the abysmal amount of 156 billion euros this year, then 154 billion in 2023, according to government projections that have gone almost unnoticed.

For comparison, the hole was close to 60 billion euros in 2019, before crises followed one another, affecting both the global economy and value chains.

Last year, it had already reached a high of…85 billion euros.

How to explain this abyssal gap of 90 to 100 billion euros dug in half a dozen years?

Is it due to a cyclical effect, as a result of the health crisis and then the war in Ukraine?

Or does it reflect a much deeper structural problem?

Bercy has obviously considered this question, the answer to which is essential for future economic policy choices.

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At the Ministry of Foreign Trade, we note that the two…

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