Eurostat: China dethrones US as EU’s biggest trading partner

CHINA last year overtook the US as the EU’s biggest trading partner, EU statistics agency Eurostat said on February 15.

Britain meanwhile, which is no longer part of the EU, ranked third, it said.

China suffered from the coronavirus pandemic during the first quarter but recovered vigorously with consumption even exceeding end-2019 levels at the end of last year.

This helped drive sales of European products, particularly in the automobile and luxury goods sectors, while China’s exports to Europe benefited from strong demand for medical equipment and electronics.

The EU and China are seeking to ratify a long-negotiated investment deal that would give European companies better access to the Chinese market.

Eurostat said the trade volume with China reached €586 billion ($711 billion) last year, compared to €555 billion for the US.

The agency said EU exports rose by 2.2 per cent to €202.5 billion while at the same time, imports from China increased by 5.6 per cent to €383.5 billion.

EU exports to the US fell by 13.2 per cent in the same period and imports by 8.2 per cent.

In addition to the Covid-19 crisis, transatlantic trade has been impaired by a series of tit-for-tat feuds that have resulted with tariffs imposed on steel and products such as French champagne or Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

Trade with the UK fell last year, as it officially left the bloc, though a transition period until December 31 blunted the effects of Brexit, Eurostat said.

EU exports to the UK dropped by 13.2 per cent, while imports from across the channel dipped by 13.9 per cent, Eurostat said.