This advantage is slipping away fast. In 2005, the total trade (imports plus exports) of Europe (defined as the EU-25 plus Norway, Switzerland, the accession countries, etc.) with the US was only 4.1% of Europe's GDP. Japan's total trade with the US was only 3.7% of Japan's GDP.
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Glad you brought this up Dennis.
My S. Korean friends in Seoul and Gwangju insist China has become S. Korea's primary export market. The more, shall we say, nationalistic among them (the ones who'd like Asia to turn its back on the pain-in-ass US once and for all) may be overstating the case so I'd be interested in learning where you get your stats from. Mind you, it's not that I doubt their assessment, but my reading comprehension of Hangul isn't good enough yet to confidently examine primary sources.
This People's Daily article from November 2002 seems to support their statements:
China has surpassed the United States, emerging as the largest market for South Korea's export in the first nine months of 2002, the Bank of Korea said Wednesday.
China's share of imports from South Korea increased 1.9 percent to 20.3 percent in the past three quarters of this year, which is slightly higher than the United States' share of 20.2 percent, said the central bank in a report on the trends and prospects of exports to China.
It marks the first time China has overtaken the United States in terms of its share of South Korea's exports market, the bank said.
Although South Korean direct exports to China accounted for a mere 13.9 percent, the Bank of Korea explained that Hong Kong, a conduit for exports to the Chinese mainland, was also included in the calculation of South Korean exports to China.
Over the past nine months China-bound exports jumped 19.6 percent on average. The third quarter posted a sharp growth rate of 35.9 percent, said the report.
[...]
<http://english.people.com.cn/200211/14/eng20021114_106790.shtml>
.d.
The most important isotope of plutonium is 239Pu, with a half-life of 24,110 years.
...................... http://monroelab.net/blog/