Russia was an important euro area trade partner before the war. In 2021, it was the world’s 11th largest economy[5] and accounted for around 3% of goods exported to the euro area and 5% of goods imported from there. It was particularly important in certain strategic sectors: Russia accounted for around a quarter of EU crude oil imports, close to 40% of EU natural gas imports and almost half of EU coal imports. The country’s role in global markets for energy, raw materials and metal industries also make it important at the start of the production process for global value chains, which also affects trade with the euro area via third countries.