EU trade in the international supply of services totalled €5,933 billion in 2023, with exports exceeding imports by €605 billion.
EU countries exported €3,269 billion in services to non-EU countries last year, while imports from outside the bloc came to €2,664 billion, Eurostat reported on Friday.
Most of the surplus came from “commercial presence” — services supplied through EU companies’ foreign affiliates such as branches or subsidiaries — which recorded a €469 billion balance and accounted for 77.5% of the total surplus.
Cross-border supply, meaning services delivered directly between countries such as digital services or remote consulting, recorded a €65 billion surplus.
Two other ways services are traded were smaller contributors — “consumption abroad”, when customers travel to another country to buy a service, had a €35 billion surplus, while “presence of natural persons”, where individuals travel temporarily to provide a service, recorded €40 million.
US, UK and Switzerland were the top partners in commercial presence
The United States was the EU’s largest non-EU partner for services supplied via commercial presence, with exports worth €486 billion, followed by the UK at €268 billion and Switzerland at €215 billion, Eurostat said.
The US also led as a source of services imported into the EU through commercial presence at €564 billion, ahead of the UK at €218 billion and Switzerland at €114 billion.
Eurostat said the figures include the first official EU data on services supplied via commercial presence, also known as “Mode 3” in international trade statistics.
