Transatlantic security and trade relations: implications for the Baltic Sea region

ENSmall states which make up the majority of countries in the Baltic Sea region have been the main beneficiaries of the international rules based system and cooperative structures which aim at managing mutual interdependences in the spheres of security and economic exchange. Usually, small countries are more exposed to the outside world and this asymmetry of interdependence implies that they benefit relatively more from international exchange but at the same time are also relatively more exposed to potential risks such as disruptions of trade, flows of capital and people from the outside. More concretely, from the point of view of the Baltic states, economic dynamism of their main trade partners, mostly Baltic Sea region states, as well as the credibility of NATO alliance, in particular the US, with geopolitical risks from the East in the background, is vital for their prosperity and protection of sovereignty.