The EU’s trade surplus in goods fell to €128 billion in 2025, down €8 billion from €136 billion a year earlier.
The trade balance is the difference between the value of goods the EU exports and imports, with a surplus meaning exports were higher than imports, Eurostat said in a release on Thursday.
The EU recorded a trade surplus every year from 2015 to 2025 except 2022, when the balance turned negative because of a deficit in the energy sector.
In the other years, surpluses in machinery, vehicles, and chemicals and related products outweighed energy-related deficits, it added.
Chemicals and related products saw the biggest increase over the decade, with the surplus doubling from €128.3 billion in 2015 to €256.7 billion in 2025.
US led EU export destinations in 2025
The United States was the EU’s main export destination in 2025, accounting for 21.0% of all exports, with shipments valued at €554.9 billion, up 3.6% compared with 2024, Eurostat said.
The United Kingdom was second at €345.5 billion, representing 13.1% of EU exports, followed by Switzerland at €219.5 billion, or 8.3%.
China was the EU’s largest source of imports by value in 2025, with goods worth €559.4 billion and a 22.3% share of all imports, up 6.4% on 2024.
The United States was next at €355.5 billion, or 14.1% of imports, followed by the United Kingdom at €158.6 billion, or 6.3%.
The EU’s energy trade deficit rose from €226.4 billion in 2015 to €298.9 billion in 2025, and was lowest in 2020 at €157.2 billion and highest in 2022 at €649.5 billion, with fluctuating prices having a large influence.
