As Donald Trump takes on the US presidency for the second time, new data has revealed the extent to which the United States is a key trading partner for the European Union.
According to a report by Destatis, based on data from Eurostat, the US accounted for 19.7% of all EU exports in 2023, with goods valued at around €503.8 billion exported across the Atlantic.
This share has grown significantly over the past decade, with US exports accounting for 13.8% back in 2013.
At the same time, China‘s share of EU exports has seen limited growth over the past decade and has actually been in decline since 2020, amounting to 8.7% in 2023, slightly above its 2013 level of 7.6%.
Key industries
As the data showed, the US is a particularly important export market for EU industries such as pharmaceuticals, aerospace, shipping, and mechanical engineering.
In 2023, 34.7% of all EU pharmaceutical exports were destined for the United States, while 23.3% of exports in the ‘other vehicles’ category, which includes aircraft and spacecraft, went to the US, along with 21.5% of machinery exports.
The EU’s trade surplus with the United States has nearly doubled over the past decade, reaching €156.6 billion in 2023 compared to €81.3 billion in 2013.
China a key supplier
On the import side, however, China remains the EU’s top supplier, accounting for 20.6% of all imports in 2023, to a value of €520.4 billion. However, China’s share of EU imports has been declining since 2020, when it stood at 22.4%.
In 2023, 56.3% of electrical equipment imports and 47.0% of data processing, electronic, and optical products originated from China.
Imports from the United States reached an all-time high of €347.2 billion in 2023, representing 13.8% of all EU imports – a notable increase on the 10.1% share recorded in 2023.
In 2023, the EU exported goods worth €2,557.0 billion and imported goods valued at €2,522.6 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of €34.5 billion. This is a recovery from 2022’s trade deficit of €436.0 billion, which was driven by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Read more here.
