The United States unseated China as Germany’s biggest trade partner in 2024, with the U.S. occupying the top spot for the first time in 15 years.
According to the Associated Press, trade between the U.S. and Germany ticked up by 0.1% from 2023, bringing Germany’s trade surplus with the U.S. to a record €70 billion ($73 billion), and besting the previous high-water mark of €63.3 billion set in 2023. At the same time, trade between Germany — Europe’s biggest economy — and China fell by 3.1% to €156.3 billion year-over-year, because Germany’s imports from China also dipped by 0.3%, while its exports to China dropped by 7.6%.
Exports from Germany to the U.S. increased by 2.2% to a record €161.3 billion as well, making the U.S. its single largest export market for the first time in nearly a decade. This comes ahead of a year of uncertainty for trade between the two countries, with the Trump administration planning to enact new tariffs on foreign cars on April 2. Roughly 80% of U.S. sales for German-owned Volkswagen come from imported cars, while Germany exports the fifth most cars to the U.S. of any country, according to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
