Economists credit score US President Donald Trump’s tariff marketing campaign with decreasing commerce between Germany and the US, its high buying and selling accomplice final yr.
Revealed On 22 Oct 2025
China overtook the US as Germany’s largest buying and selling accomplice in the course of the first eight months of 2025, preliminary information from the German statistics workplace has proven.
The info indicated that German imports and exports with China totalled $190.7bn (163.4 billion euros) from January to August, whereas commerce with the US amounted to $189bn (162.8 billion euros), in keeping with Reuters calculations.
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The US was Germany’s high buying and selling accomplice in 2024, ending an eight-year streak for China. Germany had sought to scale back its reliance on China, citing political variations and accusing Beijing of unfair practices.
However commerce dynamics shifted once more this yr, with US President Donald Trump’s return to the White Home and his renewed tariff campaign.
The tariffs have pushed down German exports to the US, which fell 7.4 % within the first eight months of the yr in contrast with 2024.
In August, exports to the US additionally fell 23.5 % year-on-year, displaying that the pattern is accelerating.
“There isn’t any query that US tariff and commerce coverage is a crucial purpose for the decline in gross sales,” stated Dirk Jandura, president of the BGA international commerce affiliation.
Jandura added that US demand for traditional German export items, corresponding to automobiles, equipment and chemical compounds, had fallen.
With the continuing tariff risk and the stronger euro, German exports to the US are unlikely to rebound any time quickly, stated Carsten Brzeski, international head of macro on the monetary establishment ING.
Exports to China fell much more sharply than these to the US, dropping 13.5 % year-on-year to $63.5bn (54.7 billion euros) within the first eight months of 2025.
In contrast, imports from China rose 8.3 % to $126.4bn (108.8 billion euros).
“The renewed import growth from China is worrying – significantly as information exhibits that these imports come at dumping costs,” stated Brzeski.
He warned that the pattern not solely will increase German dependence on China, however might add to emphasize in key industries the place China has grow to be a serious rival.
“Within the absence of financial dynamism at house, some in Germany could now fret by any shifts on world markets,” stated Salomon Fiedler, an economist on the financial institution Berenberg.
