Goods trade surplus

A goods trade surplus shows a positive trade balance arising from the Dutch trade in goods. This means that the value of goods exported by the Netherlands is higher than of goods imported to the Netherlands.
The Netherlands has a large goods trade surplus, which is the chief explanation for also having a large Dutch current account surplus. Regarding this surplus, the European Commission sets a national target maximum of 6 percent of GDP. The Netherlands’ trade surplus (including re-exports) stood at 8.7 percent of GDP in 2016.