Here in Europe I think we counterbalance two major effect:
- Exportation is very low due to the high value of Euro compared to US dollars and Yen (negative effect).
- Oil (raw) cost is much lower than the other countries, thus keeping the energy making cost lower (positive effect). 90$=63euros for a barrel of petroleum, which is high anyway!
I remember that the cost for a gallon of fuel in USA in 1999 was floating at 0.87-0.95$.
How much is it now???
Anyway, the positive effect here is that we can buy electronics stuff for a lot less than normal, importing it directly from Japan or USA!!