Personal #tradeXpresso thread: Today is a special day, as it’s been more than 10 years since I’m doing my current job. Before turning a professional page, it’s time to look back at the difference the #ChiefEconomist team and I made in @Trade_EU. At least 10 things came to mind:

1. #SMEs were not seen as important. Now they are key for @Trade_EU! https://econpapers.repec.org/paper/risdgtcen/2014_5f003.htm

2. #Services trade data didn’t have #ModesOfSupply! Now they do! Thanks to @EU_Eurostat @wto @RBKoopman @riina_kerner https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2016/december/tradoc_155119.pdf

3. FTAs didn’t come to your town. Now #FTAcomes2town! Thank you, @zivbaida!

4. We didn’t have a comprehensive knowledge about #PreferenceUtilisation in our FTAs! Now #PUR is a KPI in @Trade_EU! Thanks to great work from EU delegations, our statisticians and #LarsNilsson, my best Deputy!

5. Our #procurement database was an empty file. Now we have over 1 million of firm-level data! Thanks to #ZornitsaKutlinaDimitrova and @everis_en!

6. We didn’t know how many EU #jobs were supported by @Trade_EU. Now we know! Thanks to @jmrcantuche and @EU_ScienceHub colleagues! https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/publication/eur-scientific-and-technical-research-reports/eu-exports-world-effects-employment-and-income

7. We didn’t know the #trade potential of #Mode5services! Thanks to all my co-authors and @MarinaFoltea , now we do! https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2017/july/tradoc_155844.pdf

8. #Consumer gains from #trade were always assumed but never quantified! Thank you, @osguinea @l_isella https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2018/february/tradoc_156619.pdf

9. #ROSA wasn’t part of the “bouquet” of trade tools we offer to EU #exporters. Now (soon) #RoOs will be simpler to understand. https://ec.europa.eu/trade/import-and-export-rules/

10. We weren’t dreaming of #Blockchain4Trade https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/press/index.cfm?id=2141

Last but not least, 10yrs ago there was no in-house modelling capacity in DG Trade. Now we do full-fledged (dynamic) CGE, partial equilibrium, econometrics, and even #trade forecasting! Big thanks to a great #ChiefEconomistTeam!