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.

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.

Germany, the United States, and France were the three biggest export markets for exporters from European Union member states, as of 2022. Over the two decades from 2002 to 2022, Germany, Poland, China, and the rest of the EU grew substantially as export markets, with China and Poland both more than doubling their shares of total EU exports. On the other hand, the UK was the fastest declining export market, as its share of EU exports sank from approximately 9.5 percent to less than 5 percent in 2022.

Brazil Automobile Main Trading Partners: Exports: European Union data was reported at 2.062 USD bn in 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.766 USD bn for 2017. Brazil Automobile Main Trading Partners: Exports: European Union data is updated yearly, averaging 1.961 USD bn from Dec 1999 (Median) to 2018, with 20 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 20.403 USD bn in 2011 and a record low of 1.018 USD bn in 2001. Brazil Automobile Main Trading Partners: Exports: European Union data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Association of Automobile Manufacturers. The data is categorized under Brazil Premium Database’s Automobile Sector – Table BR.RAE003: Automobile Main Trading Partners: Exports: European Union. Export data in value include assembled and knocked-down vehicles, agricultural and highway construction machinery, engines and components manufactured by ANFAVEA member companies.

The European Union's total Imports in 2024 were valued at US$2.64 Trillion, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. The European Union's main import partners were: China, the United States and the United Kingdom. The top three import commodities were: Mineral fuels, oils, distillation products; Electrical, electronic equipment and Machinery, nuclear reactors, boilers. Total Exports were valued at US$2.80 Trillion. In 2024, The European Union had a trade surplus of US$159.68 Billion.

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.

Brazil Automobile Main Trading Partners: Imports: European Union: Highway Construction Machinery data was reported at 74.100 USD mn in 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 22.900 USD mn for 2017. Brazil Automobile Main Trading Partners: Imports: European Union: Highway Construction Machinery data is updated yearly, averaging 63.950 USD mn from Dec 1999 (Median) to 2018, with 20 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 341.000 USD mn in 2012 and a record low of 19.500 USD mn in 2000. Brazil Automobile Main Trading Partners: Imports: European Union: Highway Construction Machinery data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Association of Automobile Manufacturers. The data is categorized under Brazil Premium Database’s Automobile Sector – Table BR.RAE010: Automobile Main Trading Partners: Imports: European Union. Export data in value include assembled and knocked-down vehicles, agricultural and highway construction machinery, engines and components manufactured by ANFAVEA member companies.

Czech Republic Exports: European Union 28 (EU 28) data was reported at 420,706,645.000 CZK th in Feb 2025. This records a decrease from the previous number of 438,639,333.000 CZK th for Jan 2025. Czech Republic Exports: European Union 28 (EU 28) data is updated monthly, averaging 204,461,489.000 CZK th from Jan 1999 (Median) to Feb 2025, with 314 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 474,538,144.000 CZK th in Nov 2024 and a record low of 52,439,320.000 CZK th in Jan 1999. Czech Republic Exports: European Union 28 (EU 28) data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Czech Statistical Office. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Czech Republic – Table CZ.JA004: Trade Statistics: by Main Trade Partner.

As of 2023, the country from which EU member states imported the most was from Germany, followed by the Netherlands. In terms of non-EU exporters to the EU, China is currently the largest trading partner, accounting for 8 percent of all imports in 2023 - a tenfold increase in its share of EU imports since 1988. Other exporters who have grown to be important trading partners for EU countries in recent decades include the post-communist countries of Poland and Czechia, both of whom joined the EU in 2004. Poland's share of EU imports has more than doubled, from 1.4 percent to 3.8 percent, in the period since its entry into the EU, while Czechia's has increased from 1.3 percent to 2.8 percent over the same period. Several exporters have declined in relative importance for EU countries during this period, with the United Kingdom, United States, France, and Italy seeing their shares decline. The United Kingdom in particular has seen its share of EU imports drop to nearly a third of their 1997 level, when the UK made up 7.2 percent of all imports into EU countries. The UK reported a significant drop in 2021, the first full year after the country left the EU, however, the UK's share of EU imports has slightly risen in subsequent years.

Brazil Automobile Main Trading Partners: Exports: European Union: Highway Construction Machinery data was reported at 352.600 USD mn in 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 218.200 USD mn for 2017. Brazil Automobile Main Trading Partners: Exports: European Union: Highway Construction Machinery data is updated yearly, averaging 71.000 USD mn from Dec 1999 (Median) to 2018, with 20 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 352.600 USD mn in 2018 and a record low of 23.100 USD mn in 2009. Brazil Automobile Main Trading Partners: Exports: European Union: Highway Construction Machinery data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Association of Automobile Manufacturers. The data is categorized under Brazil Premium Database’s Automobile Sector – Table BR.RAE003: Automobile Main Trading Partners: Exports: European Union. Export data in value include assembled and knocked-down vehicles, agricultural and highway construction machinery, engines and components manufactured by ANFAVEA member companies.

Exports: USD: ytd: DV: ow European Union Countries (EU) data was reported at 138.300 USD bn in Aug 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 122.956 USD bn for Jul 2018. Exports: USD: ytd: DV: ow European Union Countries (EU) data is updated monthly, averaging 51.147 USD bn from Dec 1999 (Median) to Aug 2018, with 210 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 181.891 USD bn in Dec 2017 and a record low of 4.048 USD bn in Feb 2002. Exports: USD: ytd: DV: ow European Union Countries (EU) data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Central Statistical Office. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Poland – Table PL.JA002: Trade Statistics: ytd: by Main Trade Partner.

Replication files for a book chapter with Cambridge University Press. Many public opinion surveys show that most citizens view international trade favourably. However, differences emerge when asked about support for trade with specific countries, as people are more supportive of trade with some countries than with others. In other words, people have preferences for specific trading partners. Whereas citizens mostly only have an indirect influence on countries’ trade policy, political elites, such as legislators, have a direct say in these policies. Just as citizens, they also may prefer some potential trading partners to others. With this in mind, this contribution asks two related questions: what explains attitudes towards trade with different countries? And do the factors that determine trading partner preferences differ between citizens and political elites? We address these questions for the case of Latin American countries. Data from the Design of Trade Agreements (DESTA) project (Dür et al. 2014) show that these countries have been particularly active in forging trade agreements. Importantly, countries in Latin America have reached out to Western partners, such as the United States (US) and the European Union (EU), but also to non-Western countries, in particular China. Which entity becomes the major trading partner has important implications, as China, the EU, and the US put forward substantially different models of trade liberalization.

European Union - Extra-EU trade: Trade balance in partnership with Australia was EUR22572.10 Million in December of 2019, according to the EUROSTAT. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for European Union - Extra-EU trade: Trade balance in partnership with Australia - last updated from the EUROSTAT on June of 2025. Historically, European Union - Extra-EU trade: Trade balance in partnership with Australia reached a record high of EUR22652.50 Million in December of 2018 and a record low of EUR12981.90 Million in December of 2009.

European Union recorded a trade surplus of 13128.90 EUR Million in May of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - European Union Balance of Trade - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Russia Exports: Year to Date: European Union: Estonia data was reported at 322.200 USD mn in Jan 2022. This records a decrease from the previous number of 4.131 USD bn for Dec 2021. Russia Exports: Year to Date: European Union: Estonia data is updated monthly, averaging 1.125 USD bn from Feb 2004 (Median) to Jan 2022, with 216 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4.131 USD bn in Dec 2021 and a record low of 43.500 USD mn in Jan 2010. Russia Exports: Year to Date: European Union: Estonia data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal Customs Service. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Russian Federation – Table RU.JAA006: Exports: by Main Trading Partners: ytd. Data release delayed due to the Ukraine-Russia conflict. No estimation on next release date can be made.

The United States is the European Union's biggest trading partner as of 2023, with the total value of trade between the EU and the North American country exceeding ****billion dollars. China was the EU's second-largest trading partner, however, in contrast to the substantial trade surplus that the EU has with the United States, the EU has a large trade deficit with China. In 2022, the EU imported *** billion euros worth of goods from China than it exported to the East Asian country. Other prominent trade partners included the UK, Switzerland, and Turkey.

Countries listed are the top 27 principal trading partners of Canada based on annual 2012 total merchandise trade data. Beginning January 2021, the United Kingdom ceased to be covered by trade agreements negotiated by the European Union. Since the data for the United Kingdom is presented separately in this table, the values for the European Union exclude those of the United Kingdom for all reference periods and regardless of the membership status of the United Kingdom in the European Union.

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The Market Access Database is an important operational tool of the European Union's Market Access Strategy, supporting a continuous three-way exchange of information between the EU institutions, Member States and European business. The Market Access Strategy is a key pillar of the EU's Trade Policy which aims to reduce the obstacles faced by European exporters of goods and services. The Market Access Database is a free, interactive, easy to use service providing: Information about Market Access conditions in non-EU countries.

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• Better input for defining the EU's trade policy objectives on further trade liberalisation in the framework of the World Trade Organisation (e.g. Doha Development Agenda) and new free trade agreements between the EU and preferential partners (e.g. EU - MERCOSUR).

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European Union - Extra-EU trade: Exports in partnership with United States was EUR509359.70 Million in December of 2022, according to the EUROSTAT. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for European Union - Extra-EU trade: Exports in partnership with United States - last updated from the EUROSTAT on July of 2025. Historically, European Union - Extra-EU trade: Exports in partnership with United States reached a record high of EUR509359.70 Million in December of 2022 and a record low of EUR202925.00 Million in December of 2010.

Dataset replaced by: http://data.europa.eu/euodp/data/dataset/TlvVelzouufZya4T8Yb8FA The table shows the 20 main partners of the Euro area 18 (according to the sum imports+exports), expressed in value terms and in % of the total flow.