The EU anticipates tariffs and triggers the commercial surplus with the US in January

In January 2025, the European Union’s commercial surplus with the US experienced a notable increase, until the 16,177 million euros. The data is 36% higher than the same month of the previous year, which closed with a positive balance of 11,884 million. Exactly, in January 2025 sales on the other side of the Atlantic reached 46.7 billion euros (+16% in interannual terms) and purchases stood at 30,500 million (+7.5%).

If the comparison is made with the preceding month (December 2024), EU’s commercial surplus with respect to the US has increased 4.2%. Imports, on the other hand, have grown by 15.7% with respect to the 26,353 million in December, and exports have done 11.4% (41,892 million in the last month of 2024).

The reading made by the experts of this export increase on both sides of the Atlantic is that companies have anticipated shipments in anticipation of a tariff war that could well be intensified, if the threats of the US president, Donald Trump is attended.

At the moment, a rate on all imports of steel and aluminum to the US is already in force, and on April 2 – if everything remains equal – more rates should be applied on the wine and the EU liquors (of 200%) and other agri -food products. For its part, the European Union has responded with a tariff package that amounts to the 26,000 million euros, A figure that aims to be equivalent to the one that threatens to impose Trump to the products of the old continent.

Despite the fluctuations, what does not change is that the commercial balance between the EU and the US is still favorable to the former. Precisely, the commercial deficit is one of the reasons used by the new White House tenant to justify its offensive against the free market.

In spite of everything, the data globally offer a very different panorama – and negative – for the twenty -seven, which in the first month of the year reduced their commercial surplus with the world to the surroundings of the 1,000 million eurosafter 15.4 billion positive balance in December.