Finland is heavily dependent on imports from China, and politicians want to change that. That could be difficult, as a new study shows.
Finland is heavily dependent on China for machinery, textiles, furniture and other household products. Almost two-thirds of laptops and almost 50 percent of phones are imported from China, according to statistics from the Finnish Customs Agency.
Finland’s dependence on China is so strong that Finnish trade and electronics companies would suffer severely if imports from China were disrupted, a study by the Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies (BOFIT) published on Friday shows.
However, it would be difficult to find alternative sources of supply, as many countries would likely be affected at the same time, the study continues.
In a press release from the State Department, which coordinated the study, Secretary of State for International Trade Nina Vaskunlahti encouraged companies to continue screening their supply chains for potential trade disruptions.
In an interview with YLE Vaskunlahti said it is high time to examine the situation and hold talks on China’s impact on Finland – even though there has been no significant Chinese investment in Finland’s infrastructure and direct links between Finland’s financial sector and China are moderate.
Finland should strive to reduce its reliance on external sources as much as possible to become more self-sufficient and increase domestic production, including components, Vaskunlahti said, noting that Finland hosts 14 of the 30 critical commodities currently consumed listed by the European Commission.
Finland should remain open to global trade and cooperation, she added.
