How will cross-border e-commerce change?

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On July 31, the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) released the 2017 World Trade and Investment Report.
The report details that world trade as a whole fell 3.1%, marking a second consecutive year of decline, that Japan's trade balance was in the black for the first time in six years, and the future of the e-commerce market. In
this article, we will take a look at the future of cross-border e-commerce based on this report.


World trade fell 3.1%, marking the second consecutive year of decline.
According to the JETRO World Trade and Investment Report, world trade in 2016 (merchandise trade, nominal export value basis) was down 3.1% from the previous year to $15.6201 trillion (JETRO estimate), marking the second consecutive year of decline. This is the first time
since 1981-83 that there has been two consecutive years of negative growth, but for the whole of 2017, the outlook is for it to turn to positive growth. The United States and China saw declines in both imports and exports for two consecutive years, and it appears that the decline in trade with resource-exporting countries due to sluggish resource prices has pushed down the value of world trade.


European countries such as Germany are performing tunisia whatsapp data relatively well, while Vietnam's exports and imports and the Philippines' imports are showing strong growth. By product category, about 80% of the decline in world trade volume can be explained by a decline in resource-related products. While trade in many items has declined, it has been concluded that there have been increases in transportation equipment, turbines, pharmaceuticals, industrial robots, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, integrated circuits, and other items.



Japan's trade balance turned into a surplus for the first time in six years
While world trade is declining, Japan's trade balance has turned to a surplus for the first time in six years since 2010. Japan's exports increased 3.1% from the previous year to $644.6 billion. Imports decreased 6.4% to $607 billion.
As a result, the trade balance turned to a surplus of $37.6 billion, mainly due to the reduction in the deficit in mineral fuels, and the trade balance is returning to a surplus.
In terms of export destinations, the United States increased 3.3% from the previous year to $130 billion. Exports to the United States increased in items such as automobiles and construction machinery, making the United States Japan's largest export destination for four consecutive years
. China is Japan's second largest export destination after the United States. China increased 4.2% to $113.9 billion, thanks to an increase in semiconductor manufacturing equipment and automobiles and parts.
In the EU, Germany increased in automobiles and the UK increased in rail cars, increasing 11.2% to $73.4 billion.
The year 2016 saw the continuation of the phenomenon of slow trade (the growth rate of trade volume being lower than the growth rate of global GDP). Despite this, Japan reportedly saw growth in many intermediate goods and capital goods, including passenger cars, as well as parts for semiconductor manufacturing equipment, airplanes, and helicopters, and also demonstrated strength in many products.