Trade
About 80% of Belgium's trade is with fellow EU member states. Given this high percentage, it seeks to diversify and expand trade opportunities with non-EU countries. The Belgian authorities are, as a rule, anti-protectionist and try to maintain a hospitable and open trade and investment climate. The European Commission negotiates on trade issues for all member states, which, in turn lessens bilateral trade disputes with Belgium.
The Belgian Government encourages new foreign investment as a means to promote employment. With regional devolution, Flanders, Brussels, and Wallonia are now courting potential foreign investors and offer a host of incentives and benefits. Foreign companies in Belgium account for approximately 11% of the total work force, with the U.S. share at about 5%. Attracted by the EU 1992 single-market program, many foreign firms and lawyers have settled in Brussels since 1989.
Read more about this topic: Economy Of Belgium
Famous quotes containing the word trade:
“I doubt if men ever made a trade of heroism. In the days of Achilles, even, they delighted in big barns, and perchance in pressed hay, and he who possessed the most valuable team was the best fellow.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Killers, huh? I’d trade the pair of you for a good Camp Fire Girl.”
—Daniel Taradash (b. 1913)
“My own experience has been that the tools I need for my trade are paper, tobacco, food, and a little whisky.”
—William Faulkner (1897–1962)