EU trade surplus with the United States continues to fall

The European Union registered a trade surplus of €40.8 billion with the United States in the third quarter of 2025, new data from Eurostat has revealed.

This is a 13.3% decline on the €47.1 billion surplus recorded in the second quarter of the year, and a significant decline (49.7%) on the €81.2 billion surplus in the first quarter, the data showed – although the first quarter was an outlier, due to concerns over the potential imposition of tariffs.

Areas in which the EU recorded a surplus with the US in the third quarter included chemicals and related products, machinery and vehicles, other manufactured goods and food and drink.

‘The United States has long been the EU’s leading export destination and one of its main import partners,’ Eurostat noted. ‘This strong bilateral relationship consistently generates a trade surplus for the EU, although its magnitude can fluctuate from one period to another. In 2025, this pattern persisted but with notable variations.’

Chemicals and related products

The trade surplus in the largest category, chemicals and related products, has continued to fall over the course of the year, coming in at €54.1 billion in the first quarter –again peaking in light of potential tariffs – before declining to €24.7 billion in the second quarter and €23.0 billion in the third.

In the third quarter, the EU reported a trade deficit with the US in energy, raw materials and other goods.

Change in patterns

From the first quarter of 2021 to the second quarter of 2022, EU imports from the United States followed a similar pattern to those from the rest of the world, Eurostat noted.

‘However, in the aftermath of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the EU increased the imports of energy products from the United States,’ it said. ‘As a result, imports from the United States grew more than those from the rest of the world and remained at a comparatively higher level.’

This trend continued into 2025, it added. Read more here.