ISAS Insights

Throughout history, improvement in political relations between nations tends to result in better bilateral trade and vice versa. Take famous examples of neighbouring countries like Brazil-Argentina, France-Germany. Total bilateral trade between Brazil and Argentina is more than US$ 30 billion today. Brazil accounts for the largest share of Argentine imports and Argentina is the third-largest importer from Brazil, behind only the United States and China. These two countries that today share very close ties over trade, culture, and tourism were once at war nearly two centuries ago. France and Germany at war with each other, even before the World wars, decided to let go of enmity in the 1950s. Now, Germany is France's most important trading partner with bilateral trade worth some EUR 161 billion in 2012.