Inward Processing Trade and Implications for the Balance of Payments Current Account (The Case of Romania)

The study is focusing on the Romanian foreign trade by approaching distinctly its two components, i.e. the final goods under definitive custom regime and the intermediate goods imported under temporary custom regime, which are subject to processing (IPT-Inward Processing Trade), followed by their exports. While the IPT flows entered a slowdown trend, due to gradual diminishing of comparative advantages of Romania, the trade deficits almost doubled as compared to two years ago. The separation of the IPT component from the foreign trade data highlights the importance of the final exports, allowing also for the assessment of related implications on the BoP current account and on the long-term external position of Romania.

Keywords: Foreign Trade, Balance of Payments, Economic Growth

JEL Classification: F13, F15, F43