The growing importance of global value chains (GVCs) in the international organisation of production
increasingly challenges the traditional way of measuring countries’ export performance and hence
international competitiveness. As a result of growing production fragmentation, a country’s export bundle
nowadays incorporates imports of intermediate goods representing a (large) part of its value. In this case,
simply looking at the evolution of exports may misrepresent the international competitive position of a
country. This paper discusses the export performance of countries along the value chain by distinguishing
upstream activities (i.e. the production of intermediate inputs) and more downstream activities (e.g. the
final assembly of products). The empirical analysis first shows how imports of intermediates increasingly
determine the export competitiveness of countries in final products. Second, the paper analyses the
developments at the intensive and extensive margins of trade and studies how structural changes in terms
of geographical and sectoral composition, largely outside the influence of national policies, have
contributed to countries’ export performance.
