Finland is one of the drivers of exports in Europe. The social debate is starting to lean towards the Finnish model in place of former national income policy agreements. Here, the idea is that the export industry defines maximum distributable levels in society and, based on this, industry-specific negotiations are held and binding agreements on the terms of employment are prepared. The objective is to reduce the fiscal sustainability gap and set up fixed cost levels in the Finnish public sector. If successful, the Finnish model will benefit all parties.
Technical trade enables exports of a higher value through effective imports.
The Federation of Finnish Commerce held the annual Kauppa 2017 (Trade 2017) event. The Minister of Economic Affairs, the guest speaker at the event, recognized technical trade for its role in producing value for the export industry. Should we wait for exports to start rolling and for Finnish industry to recover its growth?
Waiting is good, but doing is even better. After the financial crisis, the structure of our industry has changed significantly – and permanently. The evolution, or creative destruction, that has taken place in different industries is here to stay. Industries have a life cycle, as do companies. Renewal is always better than the status quo. However, we should keep in mind that there are many blooming and rapidly developing companies in sunset industries, as well. It is important to be better than other companies operating in the same field.
The pace of change has accelerated. At the same time, the idea of free trade has, unfortunately, taken a few steps back. As a small nation and economy, Finland benefits more from free trade than larger economies do. I hope that, together, we can lead the concept of free trade and its development forward. Shared concepts of quality are important factors for exporters, while standardization is even more important. If we allow our expertise to leave Finland, it will be difficult – if not impossible – to get it back. For example, it is a good thing that we are still designing and building the world's best ships in Finland. Possibly, the free trade agreement with Canada allows us to export icebreakers to new markets.
Aki Ojanen
November 2016