The German export surplus in trade with the USA remains significant.

In the first quarter of 2025, goods worth 41.2 billion euros were exported from Germany to the USA and goods worth 23.5 billion euros were imported from there, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) announced on Tuesday. This means that exports to the United States exceeded imports from there by almost 75 percent. At €17.7 billion, Germany's export surplus in trade with the United States was the highest compared to any trading partner in the first quarter of 2025.

It was €4.8 billion higher than with France, the country with the second-largest German export surplus (€12.8 billion). In the first quarter of 2024, the foreign trade balance (exports minus imports) with the United States was still €16.7 billion. At that time, the export surplus was €3.2 billion higher than with second-placed France (€13.5 billion). The largest share of the export surplus with the USA in the first quarter of 2025 was trade in motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts, at €7.8 billion (exports: €9.1 billion; imports: €1.3 billion). For new vehicles with combustion engines (excluding hybrids), the balance was €2.6 billion (exports: €3.1 billion; imports: €0.6 billion). For electric vehicles (excluding hybrids), the balance was lower at €1.6 billion (exports: €1.7 billion; imports: €0.1 billion), and for hybrid vehicles, it was €0.9 billion (exports: €1.2 billion; imports: €0.2 billion). By comparison, in the first quarter of 2024, the export surplus with the United States in trade in motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts totaled €6.2 billion (exports: €8.3 billion; imports: €2.1 billion). Germany achieved its second-largest export surplus in this goods category in the first quarter of 2025 with the United Kingdom, with a balance of €4.4 billion (exports: €5.7 billion; imports: €1.3 billion). A positive foreign trade balance with the USA was also recorded in the first quarter of 2025 for pharmaceutical and similar products, with an export surplus of €4.2 billion (exports: €7.8 billion; imports: €3.6 billion). The large gap in the ranking of partner countries is striking here. The United States ranked first in this goods category in the first quarter of 2025. The Netherlands followed in second place with a German export surplus of only €0.9 billion (exports: €2.2 billion; imports: €1.2 billion). Other product categories with a German export surplus with the United States in the first quarter of 2025 included machinery, apparatus, and mechanical equipment (balance: +3.7 billion euros) and electrical products (balance: +2.5 billion euros). Among electrical products, exports of programmable logic controllers (balance: +216.1 million euros) and lithium-ion batteries (+155.6 million euros) were particularly significant. According to the Federal Office, import surpluses with the USA in the first quarter of 2025 primarily arose in mineral fuels such as coal, crude oil, and liquefied natural gas. The import surplus in this goods category amounted to €3.0 billion. Imports of crude oil and natural gas accounted for the largest share. For these goods alone, the foreign trade balance amounted to €-2.4 billion due to a lack of German exports. Germany recorded a higher import surplus for crude oil and natural gas only with Norway (balance: €-6.3 billion). Imports of fruits and nuts (balance: -0.4 billion euros) and various seeds and fruits (balance: -0.3 billion euros) also exceeded exports to the United States. The largest shares were soybeans (balance: -260.0 million euros), pistachios (balance: -121.8 million euros), and almonds (balance: -108.5 million euros). In 2024, the United States was the most important recipient of German exports and also Germany's most important trading partner overall. The last trade deficit with the United States occurred in 1991; since then, Germany has achieved export surpluses in trade with the United States every year.