Service import back at pre-corona level

The Netherlands almost exported. in 2021 211 billion euros in services. That is 5.7 percent more than in 2020, but still 10.5 percent less than in 2019. In 2021, Dutch imports of services amounted to almost 201 billion Euro. This is 7.2 per cent more than in 2020, but 15.3 per cent less than in 2019. International trade in services has therefore fallen sharply in 2020, and will not fully recover in 2021. However, imports in the first quarter of 2022 were 1 .2 percent higher than in 2019. On the other hand, exports were still 3.8 percent lower than in the same period in 2019.

Recover imports mainly through transportation services

The largest increase in import value (Q1 2022) can be found in transport services. Prices for freight and container transport have risen sharply in recent years, which may partly explain the growth in import value. In addition, the Netherlands also imported more business services (7 percent) in the first quarter than in the same period of 2019.

Due to the corona pandemic, travel traffic in particular fell, but the import value of intellectual property use fees also fell sharply in 2020 and 2021. The Netherlands has recently implemented or announced some changes in its tax legislation that make it less attractive for multinationals to use certain income streams through the Netherlands. In the run-up to the fiscal changes in 2021 and the forthcoming changes after that year, some companies have chosen to move certain income streams to other countries.