World impact of kernel European Union 9 countries from Google matrix analysis of the world trade network

TL;DR

This study uses Google matrix analysis on UN trade data from 2012-2018 to show that the EU 9 countries act as a dominant trade bloc, surpassing the USA and China in global influence.

Contribution

It introduces a novel application of Google matrix analysis to quantify the trade influence of the EU 9 as a unified entity, supporting the super-union proposal.

Findings

KEU9 ranks highest in trade influence, ahead of USA and China.

EU 9 acts as a major trade network hub.

Supports the super-union concept based on mathematical analysis.

Abstract

We use the United Nations COMTRADE database for analysis of the multiproduct world trade network. With this data, considered for years 2012-2018, we determined the world trade impact of the Kernel of EU 9 countries (KEU9), being Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, considered as one united country. We apply the advanced Google matrix analysis for investigation of the influence of KEU9 and show that KEU9 takes the top trade network rank positions thus becoming the main player of the world trade being ahead of USA and China. Our network analysis provides additional mathematical grounds in favor of the recent proposal of KEU9 super-union which is based only on historical, political and economy basis.