Increase Germany’s imports from China reduces German foreign trade surplus

Germany continues to export goods to the United States more than the commodities it imports from it, but the high customs duties imposed by the administration of US President Donald Trump slowed the trade movement between the two countries.

The Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden announced on Friday that the surplus of Germany’s exports to the United States decreased from January to July 2025 to its lowest level since 2021. According to the data, the German trade balance surplus with the United States reached 34.6 billion euros, or 15 percent less compared to the same period last year. On the global level, Germany’s surplus in foreign trade decreased by 32.7 billion euros, or by a rate 21.2 percent, for 121.3 billion euros, partly due to the increase in imports from China. Time, the United States remains the commercial partner with which Germany is achieving the highest surplus in exports. As of last August, the United States imposed 15 percent fees on most imports from the European Union, while steel and aluminum fees rose to 50 percent since last June. Although most German exports were directed to the United States last July, this month recorded the fourth monthly decrease in a row, the lowest level since December 2021. German exports to the United States in the first seven months of the year recorded a decrease in a rate 5.3 percent to 89.9 billion euros, while American exports to Germany increased by 2.2 percent to reach 55.3 billion euros. (Sky News)