New Aspects of Intra-industry Trade in EU Countries

This paper discusses some new evidence on intra-industry trade (IIT). In particular, we focus on EU trade with Eastern European countries, using trade data at the harmonised commodity description and coding system (HS) eight-digit product level for the period 1988-2010. Our findings include Eastern European countries' rise up the quality ladder, and by contrast, the substantially lower prices of China's exports to EU countries vis-à-vis China's imports from them. The contrast between EU trade with Eastern European countries and with China is present even in recent years.