Official data shows that in 2024, the United States became Germany’s largest single trading partner, dethroning China for the first time in nine years. The significant decline in Germany’s exports to China was the main contributing factor to this shift.
According to data released by the Federal Statistical Office of Germany on Wednesday, February 19, as the largest economy in Europe, Germany’s trade volume with the United States increased by 0.1% compared to 2023, reaching 252.8 billion euros (approximately 264.3 billion US dollars).
China had been Germany’s largest trading partner for eight consecutive years from 2016 to 2023, but bilateral trade dropped by 3.1% to 246.3 billion euros in 2024. The Netherlands ranked third, with a total trade volume of 205.7 billion euros with Germany, a decrease of 4.2% compared to the previous year.
Germany’s economy has not seen significant growth for five consecutive years. Over the years, the country has relied on exports to dominate global trade in industries such as industrial machinery and luxury automobiles.
In 2024, Germany’s total exports amounted to 1.56 trillion euros, a decrease of 1.2% compared to the previous year; global imports decreased by 3% to 1.32 trillion euros.
However, due to various factors such as increasingly fierce competition from Chinese companies, the German economy has experienced contraction in the past two years.
Germany will hold elections this Sunday, with economic issues being one of the most urgent tasks for the new government to address, along with the need to deal with the tariff policies of the new US administration.
President Trump announced on Tuesday, the 18th, that he may impose tariffs of around 25% on imports of automobiles, chips, and pharmaceuticals, with the earliest announcement of this news scheduled for April 2nd.
According to the German Statistical Office, Germany’s trade surplus with the United States increased from 63.3 billion euros in 2023 to 70 billion euros in 2024. Germany’s exports to the US grew by 2.2% to 161.4 billion euros, while imports from the US declined by 3.4% to 91.4 billion euros. Since 2015, the US has consistently been Germany’s largest single export destination.
Meanwhile, Germany’s trade deficit with China further widened. Imports from China decreased by 0.3% to 156.3 billion euros, while exports to China significantly dropped by 7.6% to 90 billion euros.