Czech gov’t seeks to cut European dependence as exports break records

Czechs broke trade surplus records in 2011, but around four-fifths of exports were to the EU, and the gov’t wants to curb that reliance

Economy|Foreign Affairs

Chris Johnstone | 07.02.2012

VIP

©Czech Government Office

Trade and Industry Minister Martin Kuba (right) spells out the strategy to seek more sales outside the EU; PM Petr Nečas (left) hinted that with EU countries slipping into recession and others on the brink, the move is overdue

A record trade surplus for December and record-breaking figures for the whole of 2011 appear to show the small, trade dependent, Czech economy in fighting form. But the government can see a big downside from the current heavy reliance on sales to Europe — with many EU economies in recession or on the brink — and wants to reposition national exports towards more distant, high-growth markets where Czech companies are currently underperforming.

ACCESS RESTRICTED

This article is completely accessible only to users of the VIP POSITION service. If you are signed up for the service, then please check to ensure that you are logged in. If you are logged in and the article has not completely displayed, you can get more detailed information on your user profile page.

Clicking on the button VIP gives you detailed information about the benefits of signing up for the VIP POSITION service. VIP