US tops China as Germany’s biggest trading partner

BERLIN (Reuters) – The United States overtook China as Germany’s biggest trading partner in the first half of 2024, according to preliminary German statistics office data, as Berlin’s drive to reduce dependency on Beijing takes shape amid a resilient U.S. economy.

German imports and exports to the world’s largest economy totalled around 127 billion euros ($139 billion) from January to June, while for China the figure was 122 billion euros, according to Reuters’ calculations based on the data.

The U.S. had already overtaken China in the first quarter, after 2023 was the eighth year in a row that China remained Germany’s number one partner, by a few hundred millions.

The shift comes as Germany has said it wants to shrink its exposure to China, citing political differences and accusing Beijing of “unfair practices”, though it has been vague on policy steps.

Lola Machleid, foreign trade expert at the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), told Reuters that the resilience of the U.S. economy had helped to boost Germany’s exports.

Overall, German exports to the U.S. increased by 3.3% to almost 81 billion euros in the six months, while business with China shrank by almost 3% to just over 48 billion euros.

Imports from China fell by almost 8% to 73.5 billion euros, while U.S. imports fell 3.4% to 46.1 billion euros, supported by supplies of energy commodities.

“In view of the current geopolitical uncertainties and the uncertain further economic development, not only in the U.S. and China, but also here in Germany, it is difficult to predict how the neck-and-neck race will continue to develop,” said Machleid.

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