Market evolution: Televisions and monitors (CN 8528) — 2015–2025

Introduction

This report analyses the evolution of EU trade in products classified under CN 8528, covering monitors, projectors, and television reception apparatus, over the period 2015–2025. The heading is a bundling category that encompasses a wide range of display and broadcast-reception technologies — from legacy cathode-ray-tube (CRT) monitors (852842) to modern flat-panel computer monitors (852852), colour television sets (852872), and video projectors (852862, 852869).

Over this eleven-year window, the EU's trade profile in this sector has been reshaped by several concurrent forces: the maturation of flat-panel display technology, a reconfiguration of global supply chains (notably the rise of Vietnam as a manufacturing base), the United Kingdom's departure from the EU single market, and geopolitical disruptions including sanctions on Russia. The result is a market in which the EU's trade deficit has deepened, supply chains have become more concentrated in Asia, and the product mix has tilted decisively towards flat-panel computer monitors.

The report is organised around three main observations. First, it documents the widening structural deficit and growing import dependence of the EU. Second, it traces the geographic reorientation of trade flows — who the EU buys from and sells to. Third, it examines how the product composition of trade has evolved across subcategories.

A Widening Deficit: The EU's Growing Import Dependence in Display Technologies

The trade balance deteriorated markedly over the decade

The EU's overall trade balance in CN 8528 products moved from a deficit of €3.17 billion in 2015 to €4.75 billion in 2025, a deterioration of 49.9%. The deficit was at its narrowest in 2015 (the first year of the period) and reached its widest point of €5.91 billion in 2022, before partially retreating.

Source: General Overview

Import values rose while export values fell

The widening deficit is not simply the result of one side of the ledger moving. Exports declined from €5.27 billion to €4.69 billion (−11.0 %), while imports increased from €8.44 billion to €9.44 billion (+11.8 %). In volume terms, export quantities fell by 9.4 % (from 158,050 t to 143,256 t), whereas import quantities grew by 20.2 % (from 261,177 t to 313,937 t). The EU thus shipped out fewer tonnes while taking in substantially more.

Net import reliance nearly tripled

The most striking indicator of structural change is the net import reliance, which rose from 13.8 % in 2015 to 39.7 % in 2025 — an increase of 188 %. This metric captures the share of apparent EU consumption (production + imports − exports) that is supplied by extra-EU imports. A near-tripling in a decade signals a decisive shift: the EU is now far more reliant on foreign suppliers for monitors, projectors, and television apparatus than it was at the start of the period.

EU domestic production expanded but not enough to close the gap

According to PRODCOM production data, EU production value in this sector rose from €5.19 billion to €8.44 billion (+62.4 %), and the number of items produced grew from 22.6 million to 33.8 million (+49.8 %). These are significant increases, yet they were insufficient to offset the even faster growth of import demand. The combination of growing production and a widening trade deficit points to rising domestic consumption — driven by remote work, gaming, and commercial signage — that outstripped what EU-based factories could supply.

Geographic Reorientation: The Rise of Vietnam, the Retreat of Traditional Partners

China consolidated its position as the dominant supplier, but the fastest growth came from Vietnam

The import partner landscape in 2025 was dominated by China, which supplied €6.20 billion (up 32.8 % from €4.67 billion in 2015). However, the most dramatic shift was the surge of imports from Vietnam, which exploded from just €58 million in 2015 to €1.38 billion in 2025 — a staggering increase of 2,262 %. By 2025, Vietnam had become the EU's third-largest supplier in this category, behind only China and the Netherlands (a re-export hub). This reflects the well-documented relocation of electronics assembly from China to Vietnam, driven by cost advantages, trade defence measures, and supply-chain diversification strategies.

Source: Top import partners

Several established suppliers lost ground sharply

While China and Vietnam gained, several traditional partners saw steep declines. Imports from Türkiye fell by 58.9 % (from €819 million to €337 million), those from the United Kingdom dropped by 80.6 % (from €448 million to €87 million), and South Korean shipments to the EU contracted by 70.5 % (from €321 million to €95 million). The UK decline is consistent with the disruption caused by Brexit: the UK left the EU customs union at the end of the transition period (31 December 2020), and from 2021 onward UK-origin goods lost their intra-EU status, triggering customs formalities and rules-of-origin complications that reduced the UK's competitiveness as a source. Japanese and Taiwanese supplies also shrank, reflecting the broader hollowing-out of final-assembly activity in mature Asian economies in favour of lower-cost locations.

Export destinations were reshaped by geopolitics and geographic proximity

On the export side, the United Kingdom remained the largest single destination but its share fell from €2.41 billion to €1.75 billion (−27.4 %). The collapse of exports to the Russian Federation — from €223 million to less than €1 million (−99.6 %) — is a direct consequence of EU sanctions imposed following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Source: Top export partners

Meanwhile, exports to Ukraine grew by 235 % and to Israel by 141.6 %, suggesting that European manufacturers partially redirected sales towards these markets. Exports to Switzerland and Norway — both members of the European Economic Area or closely integrated — proved relatively stable, growing modestly in line with their consumption needs.

Import concentration increased while export flows diversified

The Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (HHI) for import partners rose from 3,386 to 4,574 (+35.1 %), indicating that the EU's import supply became more concentrated — principally in China and, increasingly, Vietnam. This is a potential vulnerability: a heavy dependence on a small number of Asian origins creates exposure to logistical disruptions, trade policy changes, or geopolitical tensions.

By contrast, the export HHI fell from 2,391 to 1,747 (−26.9 %), meaning that EU exporters diversified their customer base across more destination markets, partly offsetting the loss of Russia and the decline of the UK.

Product Mix Evolution: The Triumph of Flat-Panel Monitors and the Vanishing CRT

Computer monitors (852852) became the dominant import category

The product segment breakdown reveals a clear structural shift in what the EU imports. Flat-panel monitors designed for use with automatic data processing machines (subheading 852852) have become the single largest product within CN 8528. By weight, imports of this subcategory rose from 151,752 tonnes in 2017 (the first year for which separate data are available) to 234,063 tonnes in 2025; by value, they grew from €4.26 billion (2017) to €6.04 billion (2025).

Source: Product segment breakdown

Colour television sets and non-display TV apparatus continued their long decline

Imports of colour television reception apparatus (852872) fell from €1.33 billion to €856 million (−35.3 % by value), while TV reception apparatus not designed to incorporate a display screen (852871) dropped from €2.21 billion to €1.31 billion (−40.7 %). The decline in 852871 is particularly steep in the supplementary-unit count: from 39.2 million items in 2015 to 37.3 million in 2025, but with a peak of 57.5 million in 2021 — suggesting a pandemic-era spike in set-top-box and decoder demand (likely related to home entertainment during lockdowns) followed by a correction.

On the export side, colour TV sets (852872) remained the largest single export product, but their value fell from €2.93 billion to €1.90 billion (−35.2 %). This mirrors the global trend of television manufacturing shifting away from Europe towards Asia.

CRT technology effectively disappeared, and non-computer projectors collapsed

Cathode-ray-tube computer monitors (852842) saw their imports shrink from 2,062 tonnes (€25 million) in 2017 to just 93 tonnes (€4 million) in 2025 — a near-total phase-out consistent with the global obsolescence of CRT technology. Similarly, non-computer projectors (852869) collapsed in import value from €770 million in 2015 to just €18 million in 2025, a drop of 97.7 %. This likely reflects the replacement of dedicated non-computer projectors by versatile smart projectors falling under 852862 or by large-format monitors and interactive displays.

Computer projectors (852862) proved more resilient, with imports fluctuating around €629–988 million, ending the period at €742 million — suggesting a stable niche in education, corporate, and event applications.

The unit value of non-computer monitors rose sharply, pointing to a shift towards premium products

A notable price trend appears in the product breakdown for non-computer monitors (852859). While their import volume shrank, the per-unit value (supplementary price) of exports surged from €232 per item in 2015 to €304 in 2025, suggesting that the EU's remaining exports in this niche are increasingly high-value, specialised displays (e.g., medical, industrial, or signage monitors). A similar pattern is visible in 852871 exports, where the per-tonne price rose from €50,899 to €69,128, indicating a move upmarket.

Conclusion

The EU's trade in CN 8528 products underwent fundamental structural change between 2015 and 2025. Three dynamics stand out.

First, the EU's import dependence deepened substantially. Net import reliance nearly tripled (from 13.8 % to 39.7 %), and the trade deficit widened to €4.75 billion. Despite a 62.4 % rise in domestic production value, EU factories could not keep pace with growing demand — a demand largely met by Asia.

Second, the geographic map of supply was redrawn. Vietnam rose from a marginal supplier to the third-largest origin (€1.38 billion), while Türkiye, the UK, South Korea, and Japan all lost significant shares. China remained dominant, and import concentration increased — a potential strategic vulnerability. On the export side, the near-total loss of the Russian market (−99.6 %) and the decline of the UK (−27.4 %) were partly compensated by growth in Ukraine, Israel, and the EEA countries.

Third, the product mix consolidated around flat-panel computer monitors (852852), which now account for the bulk of both import and export value. Legacy CRT monitors have effectively vanished, non-computer projectors have collapsed, and traditional television sets continue their long structural decline. Where the EU retains a presence in shrinking segments, it appears to be moving upmarket towards higher-value, specialised products.

Looking ahead, the key questions for EU trade policy in this sector revolve around supply-chain resilience (given the heavy Asian concentration), the impact of any further trade defence measures, and whether the EU's growing domestic production base — anchored in Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary — can begin to reverse the deepening import dependence.