EU trade surplus shrinks 60% as U.S. exports fall due to tariffs

U.S. President Donald Trump reads from a paper and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen listens after reaching a trade deal between the U.S. and the EU at the Trump Turnberry golf course in Turnberry, Scotland Sunday, July 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

BRUSSELS -- The European Union’s trade surplus with the rest of the world shrank by 60 per cent in February as exports to the United States dropped by more than a quarter, with U.S. import tariffs of 15 per cent largely in place on EU goods.

EU exports as a whole were 9.3 per cent lower in February than a year earlier, while imports were down 3.5 per cent, EU statistics office Eurostat said on Friday.

The largest export decline was towards the U.S., with a drop of 26.4 per cent, while imports from the United States were 3.2 per cent lower. EU exports to China were also down.

A year ago, EU exporters had begun front-loading shipments to the U.S. in anticipation of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, inflating the export figures for early 2025 and potentially explaining February’s sharp decline.

Exports to the United States in February 2025 rose by 22.4 per cent year-on-year.

On February 20, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Trump’s sweeping tariffs, which he had pursued under a law meant for use in national emergencies.

But only days later, the U.S. imposed a new temporary global import levy and is planning to reconstruct tariffs to replicate those agreed with the EU last year.

(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Joe Bavier)