The European Union's total Exports in 2024 were valued at US$2.80 Trillion, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. The European Union's main export partners were: the United States, the United Kingdom and China. The top three export commodities were: Machinery, nuclear reactors, boilers; Pharmaceutical products and Vehicles other than railway, tramway. Total Imports were valued at US$2.64 Trillion. In 2024, The European Union had a trade surplus of US$159.68 Billion.

The average for 2023 based on 27 countries was 72.77 percent. The highest value was in Luxembourg: 212.53 percent and the lowest value was in Italy: 33.73 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

The export trade of the European Union experienced some notable shifts over the two decades since 2002, with China emerging as a significant export market and the United Kingdom losing its place as the EU's single largest export partner. The United Kingdom's declining share of EU exports The UK, which was a member of the European Union until 2020, declined in its importance as an export market for EU producers over this period. Representing over a fifth of the export trade in 2002, the UK now takes only 13 percent of EU exports, and looks likely to be eclipsed by China's growing share in the coming years. The complications to EU-UK trade caused by the UK's exit agreement with the EU is also likely to contribute to slowing trade flows between the two partners. China's emergence as a key export market As with most other areas of the global economy, the past two decades has largely been the story of China's emergence as a key trading partner. China's share of EU exports was comparable to Japan or Norway at the beginning of the period, while it now represents the EU's third largest export market. While this is a significant change, China takes up a much larger share of imports into the EU, where it is the largest single trading partner. As Chinese incomes rise in the coming decades, the significance of China as an export market for EU producers is likely to rise, geopolitical tension notwithstanding. The Euro and exports to the U.S. The EU's export trade with the United States over this period experienced a relative decline in the period running up to 2014, as the Euro appreciated in its value against the U.S. dollar, making European exports more expensive for Americans. This declining share of the EU's export trade taken by the U.S. was reversed in the latter half of the 2010s however, as the Euro depreciated and European exports to the U.S. increased. Issues with Russia Another notable trend over the period was Russia's emergence as a key export market in the mid-2000s, as the Russian economy grew quickly and Russian consumers began to demand EU made products. Russia declined as a market for EU exports after 2014, as trade was complicated by Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, and the subsequent devaluation of the Ruble and collapse in the price of Ural crude oil.

European Union - Exports of goods and services in % of GDP was 50.70 % of GDP in December of 2024, according to the EUROSTAT. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for European Union - Exports of goods and services in % of GDP - last updated from the EUROSTAT on July of 2025. Historically, European Union - Exports of goods and services in % of GDP reached a record high of 55.30 % of GDP in December of 2022 and a record low of 40.30 % of GDP in December of 2010.

The share of total exports from European Union member states which goes to other EU countries underwent a decline from its early 2000s high point during the global financial crisis, great recession and Eurozone crisis (2007-2012), before rebounding back to around 61.77 percent of total exports in 2023. This share is a good indicator of the relative importance of intra-EU trade, that is, trade governed by the "four freedoms" of the European Single Market (freedom of movement for goods, services, capital, and labor), vis-a-vis international trade with partners outside of the European Union. It is worth keeping in mind that the United Kingdom, a key trading partner of many European Union countries, left the EU in 2020, meaning that the country was added to the extra-EU share. The fact that this did not have a notable effect on the share of exports going to extra-EU countries points to the declining relative importance of the UK as a trade partner for the EU.

The average for 2023 based on 27 countries was 1.2 percent. The highest value was in Germany: 6.57 percent and the lowest value was in Latvia: 0.09 percent. The indicator is available from 1990 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

The average for 2022 based on 27 countries was 14.68 percent. The highest value was in Ireland: 40.69 percent and the lowest value was in Luxembourg: 5.88 percent. The indicator is available from 2007 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

The European Union's share of both world exports and imports has on average been falling for the past two decades. During this time, the EU opened up a small trade deficit during the years around the Great Recession and the Eurozone crisis, before sustaining a large surplus in the years after 2011. This surplus was driven by exporting countries such as Germany who specialize in exporting products such as chemicals, manufactured products and heavy machinery, while the cost competitiveness of EU exporters was maintained by a decade which saw little real wage growth for EU workers. On the other hand, the EU also imported heavy manufactured goods, while being a notable energy and fuel importer. The economic problems experienced in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 led to Europe once more opening up a trade deficit, while this once more became a surplus in 2023 and 2024, as Europe's share of world imports sank bank to 14.4 percent and the exports to 15.8 percent.

Exports of goods and services (% of GDP) in European Union was reported at 51.93 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. European Union - Exports of goods and services (% of GDP) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

In 2024, around **** percent of the total exports from the European Union to China were in the category manufactures. In the same year, around **** percent of exports were primary products.

European Union Exports to China was US$227.17 Billion during 2024, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. European Union Exports to China - data, historical chart and statistics - was last updated on July of 2025.

In 2024, U.S. exports to the EU amounted to 370.19 billion U.S. dollars. This is an increase from the previous year, when U.S. exports to the EU totaled to about 368.76 billion U.S. dollars.

In 2023, mineral fuels, lubricants, and related materials had the highest share among other products exported to Africa from the European Union (EU), at 16.5 percent. Food, drinks, and tobacco, as well as raw materials followed, with 7.6 percent and 6.7 percent, respectively. In the same year, goods exported from the EU to Africa represented 5.3 percent of the total exports.

European Union Exports to United States was US$571.11 Billion during 2024, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. European Union Exports to United States - data, historical chart and statistics - was last updated on July of 2025.

The European Union has experienced a shift in its biggest trade partners since the early 2000s. Over the past two decades, the share of EU imports flowing from China has more than doubled, from around 8 percent in 2002 to over 20 percent in 2024, making China the EU's largest external import partner. At the same time, the proportion of total imports coming from the United Kingdom, which was historically a large importer to EU countries (the UK was an EU member state until 2020), have more than halved, from 18 percent to less than 7 percent. This secular trend existed before the UK voted to leave the EU in 2016, however, there has been a notable drop in imports from the UK since Brexit was enacted in 2020. By contrast the share of the EU's import trade taken by the U.S., Switzerland, and the Rest of World have remained relatively stable over this period. The share of exports coming from Russia was growing steadily in the period before 2014, after which the EU imposed economic sanctions on Russia due to the illegal annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. Imports from Russia collapsed in 2023, due to the effect of the additional economic sanctions placed on Russia in response to the full scale invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022.The Russian Federation is now only the tenth-largest exporter to the EU, after India, Japan, and South Korea.

Shares of intra-EU trade, that is, the trade of goods between European Union member states, have remained relatively stable over the period since 2002, with a few notable trends.

Leaders of the pack: Germany and the Netherlands

Germany has consistently been the biggest exporter of goods to other member states, with the Netherlands being consistently the second largest exporter after 2005. This is consistent with Germany's status as the EU's export powerhouse, with the country also being the largest exporter to the rest of the world. The Netherlands on the other hand is predominantly an intra-EU exporter, taking a smaller share of extra-EU exports.

A declining exporter: France

France, which was the second largest exporter from 2002 to 2005, has seen its share of the EU export trade decline to less than eight percent over the period, ranking as the fifth biggest exporter in 2021. France's economy, while still the second largest in the EU, has been troubled by issues of unemployment, relatively slow GDP growth, and uneven development over the past two decades.

Europe's new export powers: Poland and Czechia

At the beginning of this period, Poland and Czechia were struggling post-communist states, looking to join the EU in 2004. Since their EU accession, however, these two Central & Eastern European countries have seen a remarkable turn-around in their economic fortunes. Benefitting in particular from the trend of Western European countries 'near-shoring' their production eastwards, in order to benefit from their skilled workforces with relatively low wage levels, the first two decades of the twenty-first century have seen Czechia's share of intra-EU exports double, while Poland's has almost tripled.

In 2023, 40.8 percent of the total export trade of Turkey was with the EU. This share peaked in 2018 with 43.7 percent and decreased slightly after that year. The value of goods and services exported from Turkey to the EU27 countries amounted to approximately 104.3 billion US dollars in 2023.

This statistic shows the major pharmaceutical trading partners of the European Union regarding exports, from 2010 to 2024. In 2024, over ** percent of EU pharmaceutical exports went to the United States. In 2019, this share stood at ** percent.

High-technology exports (% of manufactured exports) in European Union was reported at 19.15 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. European Union - High-technology exports (% of manufactured exports) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Turkey was the largest destination for EU-27 exports of plastic waste in 2023, with a volume of ******* metric tons. For many years the main destination for EU plastic waste was China. However, in 2018 China introduced its "National Sword" policy, which banned the import of several types of waste, including plastics. This saw EU-27 exports to China drop from *** million metric tons in 2015 to less than *** metric tons by 2023. As a result of these restrictions, plastic waste exports from EU member states have fallen almost ** percent since peaking in 2014.