Despite Trump’s tariffs, a record rise in trade between the European Union and America | economy

A study by the German Economic Institute showed on Friday, according to Reuters, that the volume of trade in goods between the European Union and the United States recorded an unprecedented high value of 875 billion euros (about a trillion dollars) last year despite the pressures of customs duties imposed by US President Donald Trump on the Union.

European Union exports to the United States increased by 7.7% to reach 580 billion euros (about 661 billion dollars), while the bloc’s imports from the United States increased by 2.2% to reach 295 billion euros (about 336 billion dollars), which prompted…

The EU’s trade surplus with the United States reached approximately 285 billion euros (about 325 billion dollars).

The study attributed part of this increase to European companies intensifying their exports to the American market, before US customs duties came into effect at the beginning of April 2025.

Ireland bucked the trend by registering a 52.7% jump in exports, driven by duty-free pharmaceutical and chemical products, according to Reuters.

Most European Union member states recorded a decline in their exports of goods to the United States, with the exception of Ireland and four other countries: the Czech Republic, with an increase of 5.1%, Italy, by 7.2%, Denmark, by 10.6%, and Finland, by 10.8%.

Sectors affected by fees

At first glance, these amounts may suggest that the tariffs imposed by Trump did not affect the basic economic relations between the two sides. However, Samina Sultan, an economist at the German Economic Institute, told Reuters that this initial impression is misleading. Some sectors suffer as a result of customs duties, especially the European automobile sector.

European Union exports of cars and spare parts to the United States fell by 20.4% in 2025. ⁠

Germany, which accounts for nearly two-thirds of the bloc’s car exports to the United States, recorded a decline of 18.9%, as its giant companies, such as Volkswagen, suffer from the pressures of Trump’s tariffs, in addition to the pressures of competition with China.

US surplus in services trade

Trade in services between the European Union and the United States also recorded an unprecedented high value of 865 billion euros ($986 billion), but the European Union recorded a deficit of 178 billion euros in this category.

Intellectual property fees, which include software licenses, patents, and trademarks, constituted more than 40% of the European Union’s imports of services coming from the United States, and recorded an increase of 13.7%.

According to European Commission data, the trade relationship between the two sides in 2025 was as follows:

• The European Commission describes its trade relationship with the United States as “the most important trading relationship in the world.”
• The total volume of trade in goods and services together in 2025 between the two sides will reach 1.7 trillion euros ($1.9 trillion).
• The relationship between the two sides, if trade in goods and services is calculated together, is largely balanced, according to the European Commission’s vision, as the difference between each party’s exports to the other party’s markets amounts to about 20.8 billion euros in favor of Europe, which represents only 1.3% of the total trade between the two sides.
• There are also huge investments between the two sides, with American and European companies investing up to 4.8 trillion euros in each other’s markets.