In 2013, foreign direct investment (FDI) from the EU28 to the rest of the world reached 341 billion euros while the EU28 received 327 billion euros in FDI. FDI from the 18-member euro zone to the rest of the word reached 324 billion euros whereas the investment that the euro zone received last year amounted to 299 billion euros. The largest recipient of the EU28’s investment was by far the United States, which obtained almost 160 billion euros. EU investment in the US is approximately eight times the amount of a combined EU investment in China and India. The US is followed by offshore financial centres and tax havens, which altogether received 40 billion euros. The third position was assumed by Brazil with 36 billion euro, Switzerland with 24 billion euros, Hong Kong with 10 billion, and China with 8 billion euros. Disinvestment occurred in Russia with minus 11 billion euros and Canada with minus 2 billion euros.
The main investor in the EU28 was by far the US with 313 billion euros followed by Brazil with 21 billion, and Switzerland with 18 billion euros. The total US investment in the EU is three times higher than its FDI in all of Asia. Among other major investors in Europe are also Japan (10 billion euro), Hong Kong (8 billion euro), and Russia (8 billion euro). Disinvestment with regards to the EU was registered with offshore financial centres which withdrew investment worth 1 billion euro. EU and US investments are perceived as the driver of the transatlantic relationship, contributing to growth and jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. It is estimated that a third of the trade across the Atlantic actually consists of intra-company transfers. This transatlantic relationship also defines the shape of the global economy as such. Either the EU or the US is the largest trade and investment partner for almost all other countries in the global economy. The EU and the US economies jointly account for about half the entire world GDP and for almost a third of global trade flows.
