Sweden’s Exports Are Outpacing the World — But Brussels’ Red Tape Threatens the Lead

World trade grew 4.2 percent last year. Swedish exports grew faster still. At Almedalen 2026, government, business, and export finance leaders debated how long that will last.

“Despite last year’s tariff chaos, world trade still grew by 4.2 percent,” said Annika Winsth, Chief Economist at Nordea, opening a roundtable discussion on Swedish exports at Almedalen 2026. “And Swedish exports did even better than that — despite a stronger krona.”

The roundtable brought together Benjamin Dousa, Sweden’s Minister for International Development Cooperation & Foreign Trade; Christian Luiga, CFO of Spotify; Tina Karlberg, CEO of Sweco International; Marie Knutsen-Öy, VP Energy Solutions at Einride; and Åke Nordlander, Director General of the Swedish Export Credit Agency (EKN).

The recipe for export success

Their explanation for why Sweden keeps beating the average: services. “We carry strong service exports with us in Sweden. That’s not affected by tariffs the way goods are,” said Karlberg. Knutsen-Öy agreed: “Sweden is a fairly small home market, so we’re forced out onto the global market fairly early.” Luiga put a number on Spotify’s own scale — “184 countries, 670 million users” — and argued competitiveness now comes down to three things: “talent, capital, and rules.”

China came up early, and split the group only slightly. “I meet companies who say you have to be there, or you’ll fall behind, and companies who say the playing field isn’t level,” Winsth said, asking Dousa how Sweden should respond.

His answer: cooperate, but don’t be naive. “We know China is breaking WTO rules on steel. That’s why we introduce protective tariffs,” he said. “The problem is it catches other countries too. Now we’re taxing the UK, Japan, and South Korea the same way. I have no issue with tariffs against countries that break the rules. I have a big issue putting them on partners who follow the rules.”

Frustration with EU structure

The sharper frustration was reserved for the EU’s own single market. “I can’t sit here and say I’m a lawyer, because I’m not one,” Dousa said. “But in the EU there are about 6,000 protected professional titles, that’s a huge problem for service exports.”

He expects the market to improve over five to ten years, but worries Brussels’ focus will drift: “It’s like shining a spotlight on one problem after another. Right now it’s on growth. The risk is that in six months, it moves somewhere else.”

Sweden better than most think

Knutsen-Öy raised a narrower, concrete gap: permits. “We’re investing far more in the US in our self-driving trucks than in Europe,” she said, “because it takes far longer to get permits here.”

Nordlander made the practical case for smaller exporters. EKN’s own triple-A credit rating, he said, is what makes its guarantees valuable to banks:

“The US doesn’t have it. Italy doesn’t have it. France doesn’t have it.” That backing lets small and mid-sized exporters borrow earlier and more than they otherwise could, with India and the Middle East flagged as promising but complex next markets.

Dousa got the last word, and used it on numbers. “We’ve got around eight free trade agreements ratified or on the way, with Mercosur (South America), India, Mexico, and others,” he said. “We estimate that could create up to 40,000 jobs in Sweden alone. I’m genuinely optimistic about the next ten years. Sweden is a lot better than most people think.”