Foreign trade economic dependence of the NWFD regions: problems and opportunities

The imposition of sanctions by Western countries against Russia closes the country’s economy -foreign trade activity and the level of cooperation with Western companies decrease, logistics routes change. Russia has been actively integrating into global value chains for many years, but at present the established relationships are ceasing to work and the flows of goods from abroad are decreasing. The purpose of the research is to analyze the macroregion’s foreign trade dependence on products from unfriendly countries. In the course of the work, we have identified goods with high import dependence, as well as those products whose exports are focused on countries that are unfriendly toward Russia. Based on the statistics of foreign trade of the North-Western Customs Administration and the Kaliningrad Regional Customs for 2021, we have identified the macroregional economic branches, for preservation and development of which the close attention of executive authorities is necessary. Taking into account the need to modernize production facilities to maintain the competitiveness of products and significant import dependence on foreign machinery and equipment for the regions of the Northwestern Federal District with the adoption of additional sanctions, the opportunities for development and even preservation of the previous volumes of the economy will be sharply reduced. The study has assessed the dependence of the NWFD on foreign unfriendly countries for each commodity group and identified specific sectors of the economy that require additional support measures. The results of the work will be of interest to representatives of the scientific community studying regional issues, crisis changes in industry and foreign trade, as well as executive authorities making decisions on the need for measures to support the economy of the subjects of the macroregion.