Austria's Foreign Trade Relations to the Black Sea Region and their Economic Perspectives

The countries of the Black Sea region, located as they are at the strategic crossroads between Europe, Central Asia and the Near and Middle East, are rapidly gaining in importance for the EU and Austria, considering their geographic proximity, rich mineral resources and potential as a sales market and labour pool. The study looks into Austria's foreign trade relations with the Black Sea region, the region's macroeconomic development and the importance of the EU's foreign trade relations. Using indicators of demand growth, tracing matches between the import structure of the Black Sea countries and the Austrian export structure and analysing Austria's competitive standing in these countries, the study identifies the export potential for Austrian businesses in the Black Sea region. In Ukraine, Austrian companies are excellently positioned and the foreign trade structures are matching well. Considering the drift of Austrian exports in recent years and demand trends among its foreign trade partners, Armenia and Azerbaijan offer interesting prospects for the future. Turkey with its matching structure and its population of over 70 million is an enormous market. Its political risk potential is lower than in other Black Sea countries where conflict is still rife. Turkey could act as a bridge for Austrian businesses to operate in the countries of the Near and Middle East.