Internationalisation Monitor 2025, second edition

This edition of the Internationalisation Monitor brings together globalisation issues that cover the full breadth of the development programme. In eight chapters, we highlight trends and developments that together provide a broad picture of how the Netherlands is intertwined with the world.

In Chapter 1, we examine the direct and indirect importance of multinationals for the Dutch economy, as well as the interaction between different types of firms.

In Chapter 2, we analyse three trade disputes between the EU and the US: (i) the long-running aviation dispute over state aid to Airbus and Boeing, (ii) the EU retaliatory measures against US steel and aluminium tariffs from 2018, and (iii) the safeguard measures that the EU subsequently imposed on steel.

Based on a newly developed dataset from Statistics Netherlands (CBS), in Chapter 3 we map out for the first time the costs incurred by the Dutch supply chain between 2015 and 2022 as a result of both US import tariffs and retaliatory tariffs imposed by affected countries.

In Chapter 4, we examine the consequences of the CETA trade agreement for enterprises in the Netherlands.

Chapter 5 describes a new price and volume index developed according to the concept of border crossing. Using detailed information at product and country level, it is possible to analyse the real changes in Dutch goods imports and exports.

Chapter 6 focuses on the export intensity of firms, with special attention to Dutch industry. We examine the extent to which firms depend on foreign goods exports for their turnover, and how this differs between groups of firms.

In the Netherlands, too, firms' productivity is increasing as a result of exports. But how can this be explained? In Chapter 7, we examine whether firms are becoming more productive because exporting leads to product or process innovation, or because exporting brings economies of scale.

In Chapter 8, we focus on employees at enterprises that export goods on an occasional or structural basis and/or multinationals. Based on microdata, we show how employment differs at these enterprises and how these differences are related to the educational background and occupational structure of employees.

The Internationalisation Monitor describes trends in internationalisation and their consequences for the Dutch economy and society. Currently, it is published twice annually as part of CBS’ Globalisation development and publication programme, which is commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The aim of the research programme on Globalisation is to achieve new insights in the field of globalisation in order to contribute to practice, policymaking and science. At the core of this approach is the integration of a wide range of sources and microdata, combined with the application of advanced statistical methods such as I/O analysis. The results – new statistics and accompanying analysis – are published in the Internationalisation Monitor.