Only by attracting foreign investments can the increase in exports be sustained, given that all of Romania's competitive advantages on foreign trade have been weakened, shows a study of the Romanian Centre for Economic Policies (CEROPE), conducted for the National Forecast Commission. "For exports, the best policy remains attracting foreign investments by continuously improving the local business environment," say CEROPE experts in a study entitled "Possibilities of reducing the trade deficit". The study says that the deepening of Romania's trade deficit in the past has become "alarming" given that exports and imports doubled over the last four years, while the trade deficit (exports minus imports) has tripled. According to statistics, exports increased twofold in the 2003-2007 period (from 15.6 billion euros to an estimated 30.25 million euros in 2007), imports increased 2.3 times (from 21.2 billion euros to an estimated 48.7 billion euros in 2007) resulting in the trade deficit increasing 3.3 times reaching 18.5 billion euros. Among the reasons for the boom in imports, CEROPE counts the increase in international quotes for crude oil and gas, which increased Romania's national electricity consumption, being responsible for a 50% increase in the value of energy imports over the last few years. The strong rise in foreign direct investments in Romania (to the all time high of 9.1 billion euros in 2006 compared with 5.2 billion euros in 2005), was accompanied by a boom in imports of technology and raw materials, which foreign investors need in order to conduct their local production-related operations.
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