Primary resources from forestry and agriculture play an important role, but so does cheap labor. This is especially the case with large amounts of textile and clothing exports from all three countries. There is a strong connection between the pattern of trade and the pattern of most of the FDI into the Baltics. Especially Finnish FDI in Estonia has complemented the development of trade. They are mainly market-seeking.
Swedish investments are more concentrated on manufacturing and tend to be more factor-seeking.
In general, most FDI in the Baltic countries have multiplied and increased the trade and production linkages between the countries in the Baltic Rim region. The high proportion of outward processing indicates that especially Finnish and Swedish investors are establishing new cross-national production networks. As with trade, FDI is falling as we go South, and the weight of the regional FDI from the Nordic countries decreases as well. At the same time, the weight of the United States, the UK and Germany increases. The US is ranking second or third amongst the foreign investors in the three countries.