Interview Series Featuring California’s Key Trading Partners – Featuring Gunther Sleeuwagen, Consul General of Belgium in Los Angeles:
Highly Diversified, Shared Connections Form Network for Growing Trade Relations
CalChamber, October 16, 2020

Trade Overview

Belgium is a high income nation with a gross domestic product (GDP) of $632.22 billion. As a relatively small country, Belgium is comparatively dense with a population roughly 11.82 million people.  World Bank

Being in Western Europe and a member of the European Union, has allowed Belgium to establish strong trade relationships. Belgium has been a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) since 1995 and before that was a member of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) since 1948. Belgium’s main exports are chemicals, machinery, and equipment. They are also large importers of raw materials, machinery, and equipment. In addition, they are a substantial importer of raw diamonds and an exporter of finished diamonds. BEA

U.S.- Belgium Trade

Belgium is the 14^th largest export destination for the United States, with exports in goods totaling approximately $38.83 billion. A majority of exports from the United States into Belgium include chemicals ($16. 8 billion), miscellaneous manufactures ($5.12 billion), transportation equipment ($3.47 billion), non-electrical machinery ($3.03 billion), and computer and electronic products ($2.13 billion).

The United States imports around $26.7 billion of merchandise from Belgium. The top categories of imported goods from Belgium include chemicals ($8.77 billion), transportation equipment ($ 2.77 billion), miscellaneous manufactured commodities ($2.22 billion), petroleum and coal products ($1.57 billion), and primary metals manufactures ($1.4 billion). U.S. Department of Commerce 

Belgium-California Trade

California was the fourth top exporting state in the U.S. for exports to Belgium with $2.14 billion in goods exported in 2023. Chemicals was the top export to Belgium at $637 million. Followed by miscellaneous manufactures, which constituted $437 million of all goods exported to Belgium from California. Other key Californian exports to Belgium are computer and electronic products ($286 million), non-electrical machinery ($269 million), and petroleum & coal products ($186 million).

Furthermore, California imports roughly $1.34 billion of goods from Belgium; including, transportation equipment ($531 million), petroleum & coal products ($158 million), reimports ($ 99 million), processed foods ($96 million), and computer and electronic products ($90 million). U.S. Department of Commerce

FDI- Belgium

Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the United States from Belgium totaled $73.5 billion in 2023. As of 2021, Belgian FDI supported 75,900 jobs in the United States. $363 million has been invested in research and development and another $3.8 billion has gone into expanding U.S. exports. The top industry sectors in the U.S. that receive FDI from Belgium are software and IT services, food and beverages, plastics, chemicals, industrial equipment, and business services. Select USA.

FDI from the U.S. into Belgium totaled $66.5 billion in the 2023, an increase of 3.1 percent from 2022. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce

In California in 2023, the twenty-second country for FDI through foreign-owned enterprises (FOEs) is Belgium. Belgian FOEs in California provides 4,078 jobs through 245 firms amounting to $402 million in wages. The top jobs by sector are manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail trade, professional/business services, and financial services. (World Trade Center Los Angeles FDI Report, May 2024).

CalChamber Resources

• American Chamber of Commerce in Belgium
• Belgium Consulates in California
• International Trade FAQs
  • Obtaining a Certificate of Origin
  • Setting up a Business in California
  • Country Studies – Foreign Market Sources