World trade
IW: USA in imports more dependent on EU than on China
Chemistry, machines, high -tech: In many goods, the USA is more dependent on the EU than on China. This raises new questions whether Europe has come away too badly at the customs agreement with Washington.
The United States is more dependent on imports from the European Union than on goods from China. “The EU import dependence from the EU has increased significantly since 2010,” says the study of the Institute of German Economy Cologne (IW).
In more than 3,100 product groups, the USA in 2024 moved into at least half of its imports from the EU – with a total value of around $ 290 billion. This includes chemical products, while the number of products primarily dominates machines, devices and electrical engineering goods.
The dependence of the United States on Europe is far -reaching, according to the IW. “Almost 46 percent of all US imports from the EU are eliminated by products in which Europe should be difficult to replace.”
Overall, almost 18 percent of all product groups, from which the United States moved into imports in 2024. Its total value of around $ 290 billion adds up to half of the entire US import volume from the EU of $ 618 billion.
Even compared to China, the EU is clearly ahead with US imports-both in the number of goods and the total value of imports with an EU market share of at least 50 percent. China came to 2,925 product groups with a total value of $ 247 billion in 2024. According to IW, this indicates a significantly sunken US dependency of Chinese deliveries.
Customs agreement with the USA strongly criticized
US President Donald Trump and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had agreed on a base customs set of 15 percent in the customs dispute in the summer to most EU imports in the United States.
In industry, the agreement is strongly criticized. “The Convention is an inadequate compromise and sends a fatal signal to the tightly intertwined economy on both sides of the Atlantic,” the Federal Association of German Industry (BDI) complained. The EU accept painful tariffs. The Mechanical Engineering Association VDMA, for example, demanded renegotiations from the EU Commission.
“Europe can meet Washington with more self -confidence”
“The United States has hardly any alternatives to the EU in numerous key products,” says IW expert Samina Sultan. Many goods could not be replaced at short notice. “There is therefore every reason to counter the threats from Washington with more self -confidence,” says Sultan.
The United States is also heavily dependent on goods from Germany, as the IW numbers further show. With 466 product groups, the US import share is higher than 50 percent, the total value is $ 18 billion. This corresponds to around 11 percent of total US imports from Germany in 2024.
dpa
Source: Stern
