Post-Brexit power of European Union from the world trade network analysis

TL;DR

This paper introduces a Google matrix analysis of the global multiproduct trade network, revealing the European Union's leading influence post-Brexit and highlighting the roles of machinery, fuels, and Asian countries.

Contribution

It presents a novel Google matrix approach to analyze multiproduct trade networks, offering deeper insights into country influence and product sensitivity compared to traditional methods.

Findings

EU leads in world trade network after Brexit

Machinery and mineral fuels are dominant in trade exchanges

Asian countries' influence is increasing

Abstract

We develop the Google matrix analysis of the multiproduct world trade network obtained from the UN COMTRADE database in recent years. The comparison is done between this new approach and the usual Import-Export description of this world trade network. The Google matrix analysis takes into account the multiplicity of trade transactions thus highlighting in a better way the world influence of specific countries and products. It shows that after Brexit, the European Union of 27 countries has the leading position in the world trade network ranking, being ahead of USA and China. Our approach determines also a sensitivity of trade country balance to specific products showing the dominant role of machinery and mineral fuels in multiproduct exchanges. It also underlines the growing influence of Asian countries.