On Monday banks in Greece reopened after the approval of a European Union backed bailout for the country’s economy.
Some economists worry the crisis in Greece has only been averted temporally–and experts who promote international trade of South Dakota goods say the ripple effects from economic instability in Europe could even impact this state.
Greece is not a huge trading partner with South Dakota businesses. The state exports less than a half-million dollars in goods annually to Greece, and that’s mostly agricultural products.
“For all the countries South Dakota trades with Greece is number 77 so it’s way down the ladder,” says Rock Nelson with South Dakota’s International Trade Center.
Nelson says while the ongoing crisis in Europe is not reducing state based exports, South Dakota could still see some fallout if the Greek debt crisis continues. Nelson worries the current bailout and reforms have only kicked the can down the road. He says the instability in Europe can strengthen the US dollar which can reduce exports of U.S. products overall.
“And, if you get into a couple of other countries which they do have economic issues, but if they get into the deep issues that Greece has things could go real fast and cause the U.S. dollar to strengthen all the more. Like if Spain and Italy take a tumble with their financiers,” says Nelson.
Nelson says while it’s good to keep an eye on the European economy it’s still possible to increase the amount of products South Dakota exports overall. He says only one percent of business in the United States export products. He says there is still plenty of room for South Dakota based goods and services in the global marketplace.