American Product Advantages Versus Netherlands

Below are the top 10 goods for which United States enjoyed a higher dollar value from its exports to Netherlands after subtracting what it spent on Dutch imports for those same types of products. Technically, a country’s exports minus imports is known as “net exports” which can be a positive amount (indicating a surplus) or a negative number (indicating a deficit).

1. Processed petroleum oils: US$4.4 billion surplus win for USA
2. Electro-medical equipment (e.g. xrays): $2.9 billion
3. Blood fractions (including antisera): $2 billion
4. Phone system devices: $1.9 billion
5. Orthopedic appliances: $1.6 billion
6. Coal, solid fuels made from coal: $1 billion
7. Computers, optical readers: $990.8 million
8. Petroleum gases: $921.4 million
9. Medication mixes in dosage: $689.8 million
10. Soya beans: $398 million

Among these, blood fractions including antisera (up 7,518%) and petroleum gases (up 1,855%) increased their net revenues for United States from export sales to Netherlands by the highest percentages from 2012 to 2014.

Dutch Product Advantages Versus United States

Semi-conductor making machinery represents the number one export for which Netherlands shows the strongest sales advantage compared to similar product exports from United States to Netherlands. In second place is malt beer, not so surprising when you consider that Heineken represents one of the biggest Dutch exporters.

1. Machinery for making semi-conductors: US$2 billion surplus win for Netherlands
2. Malt beer: $787.3 million
3. Hormones, miscellaneous steroids: $371.4 million
4. Radioactive chemical elements: $318.9 million
5. Flat-rolled iron or non-alloy steel products (plated/coated): $305.2 million
6. X-ray equipment: $293.1 million
7. Hot-rolled iron or non-alloy steel products: $219.1 million
8. Sutures, special pharmaceutical goods: $185.9 million
9. Aircraft parts: $183 million
10. Nuclear reactors, fuel elements: $151 million

The fastest-growing Dutch product win versus the US is semi-conductor makers up in value by 84.2% in 2014 since 2012.
Netherlands’s edge over American plated/coated, flat-rolled iron or non-alloy steel products improved in value by 75.9% from 2012 to 2014, followed by sutures and special pharmaceutical goods which appreciated 73.5% over the same period.

Final Scorecard for Trade War: United States Versus Netherlands

Spearheaded by refined petroleum and specialized technology products, the US earned an overall $22.3 billion surplus in its international trade with Netherlands during 2014.

From a more granular perspective, the Harmonized Tariff Schedule has 97 product categories at the two-digit summary level. United States held positive balances in 67 of those 97 categories (69.1%) for a $25.7 billion subtotal, led by the following:

1. Mineral fuels including oil: $6.4 billion surplus win for USA
2. Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $5.2 billion
3. Electronic equipment: $3.7 billion
4. Pharmaceuticals: $2.6 billion
5. Aircraft, spacecraft: $1.1 billion
6. Organic chemicals: $881.4 million
7. Vehicles : $720.3 million
8. Plastics, plastic articles: $710.1 million
9. Other chemical goods: $637 million
10. Oil seed: $451.8 million

These 10 product categories account for 87.3% of the total value of American product-specific surpluses trading with Netherlands.

Netherlands gained competitive advantages with the remaining 30 product categories subtotaling $3.4 billion in surplus, led by the following:

1. Beverages, spirits, vinegar:$831.3 million surplus win for Netherlands
2. Iron, steel: $755.5 million
3. Machinery: $217 million
4. Inorganic chemicals: $177.2 million
5. Cocoa: $145 million
6. Live trees, plants: $129.9 million
7. Fertilizers: $96.4 million
8. Dairy, eggs, honey: $92.4 million
9. Collector items, art, antiques: $78.3 million
10. Live animals: $72.2 million

The above categories represent 76.9% of the total value of Dutch product-specific trade surpluses gained at America’s expense.