French foreign trade: exports in transport stay the course

In 2023, France ’ s trade deficit narrowed, helping to offset part of the impact of the sharp slowdown in consumption, allowing GDP growth to remain in expansionary territory. The improvement in France ’ s trade balance was driven more by the increase in exports (+1.5% YoY ) than by the decrease in imports (-0.1% YoY ). The latter stemmed from a reduction in imports of energy products ( thanks to the greater availability of France ’ s nuclear fleet ) but also to a contraction in imports of “ other industrial goods ” , helped by a moderation of shortages ( particularly in the chemicals and metallurgy sectors ) and by companies drawing down inventories. At the same time, exports by the aerospace and automotive sectors were particularly buoyant. In the case of the aerospace sector, exports are still down on their pre-crisis levels, but were upbeat , demonstrating that the sector is still doing some catching up. Conversely, while automotive sector exports are back to their pre-crisis levels, this was offset by higher imports of electric vehicles. Despite these positive developments, France ’ s trade deficit remains at an all-time high ( 2022 excluded ).