The EU had a €5.4 billion trade deficit with the rest of the world in January

The European Union had a €5.4 billion trade deficit with the rest of the world in January 2025, compared to a €6.7 surplus in January 2024.

Exports from the bloc totalled €208.7 billion, a 4.4% increase on the same month the previous year, however imports rose by 10.9% to €214.1 billion, Eurostat‘s data showed.

Machinery and vehicles

The decrease was largely due to a shrinking surplus in machinery and vehicles, which fell from €19.1 billion to €9 billion, and in manufactured goods, which went from a surplus of €1.7 billion to a deficit of €7.8 billion.

Over the whole of 2024, the EU recorded a surplus of €147 billion, up from €34.4 billion in 2023, as exports rose 1.1% and imports fell by 3.4%.

Trade with the United States rose by 16% in Janury 2025, while trade with the UK was up 1.0% and trade with India rose 19.3%. In contrast, trade with China fell notably, by 13.3%, the data showed.

Euro area trade

Within the euro area specifically, a trade surplus was recorded in January 2025, of €1.0 billion, however this was down from €10.6 billion a year earlier. On a month-on-month basis, compared to December 2024, the surplus was also down significantly, from €15.4 billion.

According to the data, exports from the euro area to the rest of the world reached €232.6 billion, growing 3% year-on-year, while imports grew by 7.6%, reaching €231.5 billion.

Here too, the drop in the trade balance was largely due to a decrease in the surplus for machinery and vehicles, falling from €16.5 billion in December to €7.4 billion in January. Read more here.