Trade in France

France's trade is one of the largest in the world. France export and imports various raw materials, automobiles and electronic products. The country ranks sixth in the world in terms of export volumes and 5th when it comes to imports.Agriculture is also another strong point for France's economy, with almost 25 percent of the EU’s total undeveloped products being produced in France. The government provides subsidies to the rural sector and the development of this sector is likely to give export activities a more boost.

Besides French trade, sightseeing is also a big contributor to the national GDP.  France rules the tourism industry with over 82 million tourists visit the country for its rich heritage and culture.The international fiscal crisis of 2009 led France into a recession, the French economy shrinking by 2.5%. The country has nonetheless resisted this development better than the eurozone average, thanks to a more diversify economy a more solid banking system, as well as a immense

France is the biggest agricultural power in the European Union, secretarial for a quarter of its total agricultural production, and the second farming power in the world after the United States. Nevertheless, the agricultural sector only represent a very small part of the country's GDP. It receives significant subsidy, especially from the European Union. Wheat, corn, meat and wine are France's main farming products.

France's manufacturing industry is varied, however, the country is in the middle of undergoing a de-industrialization process which translates into many relocations. The key industrial sectors in France are telecommunications, electronics, cars, aerospace and weapons.

The tertiary sector represents about three-fourths of the French GDP and employs almost 75% of the active workforce. France is the leading-tourist purpose in the world with more than 75 million foreign tourists every year

Trade in France

France has the world's fifth largest economy by nominal figures and the ninth largest economy by PPP figures. It has the second largest economy in Europe (behind its main economic partner Germany) in nominal figures and [[List of sovereign states in Europe by GDP (PPP).

France's economy entered the recession of the late 2000s later and left it earlier than most comparable economies, only enduring four quarters of contraction. Between January and March 2011, France's GDP growth had been stronger than expected at 0.9%, one of the best figures in Europe but shrunk between April and June 2011 decreasing by -0.1%. In 2011, the GDP surprisingly grew at 1.85%, below Germany at 2.9% but more than the UK that grew by 0.6%.

France has long been part of the world's wealthiest and most developed national economics

After the turn of the century, wealth per adult grew very strongly in France, tripling in value between 2000 and 2007. It then fell back by 15% and has not yet regained its 2007 value. Much of the earlier rise can be attributed to appreciation of the euro against the dollar, a factor which affected all Eurozone countries. However France also experienced a rapid rise in house prices as a result of which real property now accounts for two thirds of household assets. Personal debts are 12% of household assets, which is a relatively low ratio in developed economies.

Trade in France

embarked on an ambitious and very successful programme of modernization under state coordination. This programme of dirigisme, mostly implemented by governments between 1944 and 1983, involved the state control of certain industries such as transportation, energy and telecommunications as well as various incentives for private corporations to merge or engage in certain projects.

The 1981 election of president François Mitterrand saw a short-lived increase in governmental control of the economy, nationalising many industries and private banks. This form of increased dirigisme, became criticised as early as 1982. By 1983, the government decided to renounce dirigisme and start an era of rigueur ("rigour") or corporatization. As a result the government largely retreated from economic intervention; dirigisme has now essentially receded, though some of its traits remain. The French economy grew and changed under government direction and planning much more than in other European countries.

Despite being a widely liberalised economy, the government continues to play a significant role in the economy: government spending, at 53% of GDP in 2001, is the highest in the G-7. Labour conditions and wages are highly regulated. The government continues to own shares in corporations in a range of sectors, including banking, energy production and distribution, automobiles, transportation, and telecommunications. These differ from countries such as the US or UK where most of these companies have been privatized.

France, with its developed economy, is one of the most active participants in world trade. After World War II, the French government saw that closer ties to Ger many would bring it political security and greater economic strength. Thus, the European Coal and Steel Community was formed, which brought the 2 countries and other European nations into a consultative body to discuss the production of steel and coal. The EU, which France was instrumental in creating, has helped it to diminish government intervention in economic affairs by privatizing several industries. In 1992, the Treaty of Maastricht was signed, which was the watershed event in bringing Europe into political and economic union. On a practical level, the lower trade barriers and fewer restrictions that integration has brought have opened doors to French products to be sold in many European countries and has allowed a wider freedom of movement of capital in Europe, all of which has benefitted France. 

The contribution of smaller-scale enterprises to the French export picture has been on the rise since 1990. Almost half of total exported goods and services were produced by companies having somewhere between 10 to 499 employees. These types of companies are called Small-to-Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Firms hiring fewer than 10 people are called Very Small Enterprises (VSEs). Foreigners control about 27 percent of SMEs in France and about 33 percent of VSEs. SMEs concentrate in agricultural products such as agro-foodstuffs and consumption goods such as wood and leather.

ealizing the importance of operating in the country where the market is, French companies have extended their presence abroad. French companies have established a sizable presence in other countries which amounted to 239.7 billion francs in 1998. France is a net exporter of direct capital investments to the rest of the world. The balance of export and import of direct capital investment almost doubled in 1997 from its 1996 value and did not change much in 1998, standing at 74.4 billion francs. This rate was due largely to the increased volume of foreign direct capital investment in France, overall, a remarkable change from the 1990 deficit of 112.3 billion francs. Emerging economies is another reason why French capital opted to take advantage of new markets abroad. But despite new investment in the developing world, two-thirds of French capital in 1998 was invested in the EU and the United States. 

Trade in France