Three nations have joined together to form an economic superpower that will have widespread impacts on the regional economy.
On Saturday 4th February, Terebostadan announced the formation of the Northwest Trade Agreement (NWTA) that will allow its members to 'remove dependancy' from other parts of the region. Member nations include Terebostadan, Mardata and Zanjact.
The agreement established free trade among the countries, focused on accessibility to raw materials.
This major announcement has shocked the region, with the NWTA having a monopoly over the manufacturing sector of the region. While the deal hasn't been revealed in its entirety, leaving some leaders unclear as to how it might impact their nation, it can be said that this regional trade block has been formed to support Zanjact's massive lead over all other regional economic powers.
The deal has caused considerable concern in Meercovo. Antonin Smith, CEO of the car manufacturer WMB said:
"This deal has definitely made us reconsider our location. WMB is looking into relocating 3 of its 5 factories from Meercovo to Zanjact in light of this trade agreement. We have no incentive to stay in Meercovo anymore- we just want the ease of trading with the largest economy in the region"
The announcement of the NWTA prompted Brunholl, Patec, Meercovo and FRS to form the Eastern Union (EU). According to the Government of Patec:
"The deal promises integrity, prosperity, and security for the eastern hemisphere. We will work together as a cooperative body to boost each others economies to ensure we are all important and formidable components of the region’s economy and security."
The data shows that these two new trade blocks will both have significant rivalry:
The EU's GDP is almost 600 trillion RM smaller than the NWTA, despite having a larger population. The NWTA also has a larger average income, although this is largely due to Zanjact's huge economy.
The Zanjactian economy itself is larger than the total EU economy, however, around 60% of the Zanjactian economy comes down to the black market. When the black markets are excluded, the NWTA actually has a smaller GDP.
The combined weight of the EU-4 still only manages to muster half the manufacturing output of the NWTA. Meercovian industry is worth 32 trillion RM and FRS' industry 28 trillion, however the combination of the second and third largest manufacturing nations still does not come close to Zanjact's.
Meanwhile, the EU is set to massively benefit Patec and FRS, as both nations rely on imports for their food supply. Patec has to rely on 9 billion RM of food imports, while FRS relies on 2 billion in food imports.
Brunholl has the largest agricultural sector in the region however the combined NWTA surpasses the EU output by 4 trillion RM.
In fact, the EU is clearly the underdog, with:
The NWTA's GDP being 30% larger
The NWTA's manufacturing sector being 108% larger
The NWTA's agricultural sector being 32% larger
However, the outlook for the EU looks much brighter over the next few years. While the NWTA will benefit Terebostadan and Mardata, Zanjact will not see as great a benefit, as the Zanjactian economy relies a lot upon EU trade.
Here are the projected economic growth figures for all EU and NWTA nations for 2023:
The data highlights the projected performance of the EU-4 economies being almost twice as good as the NWTA-3 economies.
The NWTA deal is projected to give Terebostadan the economic jump start it needs, however the EU economies are projected to have a better year due to their greater reliance upon one another for trade.
The proposed FRS-Meercovo bridge will also boost trade between the EU countries, and will increase economic growth.
Economic experts predict that by 2050, the EU's economy will be worth 5316 trillion RM, compared to the NWTA's 3628. This means that by 2050, the EU's economy will be 32% larger, overturning the huge 30% gap that currently exists.
Data from the Meercovo Office for Statistics shows that by then, the economies might look like this:
While Zanjact would retain the top spot as both the largest NWTA economy and the largest regional economy, the economy of FRS is expected to massively expand, Brunholl's will almost quadruple and Patec and Meercovo's will both double.
In the NWTA, Mardata's economy is expected to underperform its current rivals (Meercovo and Brunholl) largely due to what the Meercovo Office for Statistics calls "reliance on Zanjact"
Whatever happens in the future, its clear now that these two trading rivals now hold huge influence over trade in the region. Perhaps the remaining independent trading nations in the south may form their own rival economic superpower.