EU trade surplus with US grows in April despite tariffs
The European Union's goods trade surplus with the United States expanded in April even after U.S. tariffs, data released on Friday showed, while the bloc's exports to China dropped for a ninth consecutive month.
The EU's surplus in goods trade as a whole declined to 7.4 billion euros ($8.5 billion) from 12.7 billion euros in April 2024, data from EU statistics agency Eurostat showed.
The EU goods surplus with the United States increased, as it has done every month since January 2024.
Both exports to and imports from the United States increased for a fourth consecutive month in April, although the growth was lower than in previous months.
U.S. President Donald Trump has announced wideranging tariffs on trade partners, and wants to reduce the U.S. goods trade deficit with the EU.
In March, EU exports to the U.S. rose by 59.5%, implying U.S. importers were building stocks of EU and other goods ahead of tariff increases.
European Union exporters faced 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium from March 11, on cars from April 3 and on car parts from May 3. Washington doubled the rate on metals to 50% on June 4.
It also imposed so-called "reciprocal" tariffs on most EU goods on April 5, initially at 20%, but almost immediately cut to 10% until July 8.
The bloc's surpluses with Britain, Switzerland and Mexico fell, while its deficits with China, Norway and South Korea widened in April.
EU exports of machinery and vehicles to the rest of the world fell by 4.3%. There were also declines of its exports of raw materials and energy products, while food and drink and chemicals exports were higher than in April 2024. ($1 = 0.8681 euros)
(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Toby Chopra)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
16 minutes ago
- The National
How Iran's 'hybrid attack' network could retaliate against Israel in Europe
Iran can call on networks of criminals and even its own agents smuggled into Europe as migrants to carry out retaliatory attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets, following Friday's strikes by Israel. Tehran has previously relied on regional allies Hezbollah, the Houthis and Hamas to attack Israel. However, with what Tehran called its 'ring of fire' degraded, it has other avenues further afield, particularly in Europe, to hit back against Israel. These include criminals networks, most notably two based in Sweden run by Kurdish gangsters Rawa Majid and Ismail Abdo, that have been accused of carrying out attacks on Israeli targets. Majid, who is nicknamed the Kurdish Fox, and his Foxtrot network were placed under sanctions by the US and the UK this year for orchestrating an attack on the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm. Three Iranian nationals were recently charged in the UK with a plot to attack an individual on behalf of Iran. An official report released in Germany on Tuesday warned that the potential threat from Iran is growing. The findings, which summarised trends in 2024, said Iranian intelligence services can be assumed to be ready to 'pursue the interests of the country's leadership by all means – including acts of violence and even assassinations'. 'The tense security situation in the Middle East and internal tensions within the Islamic Republic of Iran shape its intelligence activities,' the Ministry of Interior document said. 'Activities directed against Germany continue to emanate primarily from the Ministry of Intelligence or MOIS. In addition to the MOIS, the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, which also operates as an intelligence agency, is also active in Germany. 'Intelligence services of the Islamic Republic of Iran also use state terrorist means to achieve their goals,' it added. 'This primarily involves the intimidation and neutralisation of opposition members, but also the punishment of 'traitors' or 'defectors'. 'Iran's activities go well beyond spying on the opposition Iranian diaspora and that pro-Jewish and pro-Israeli interests and institutions in Germany are the focus of Iranian activities.' Jason Brodsky, policy director of advocacy group United Against a Nuclear Iran, told The National that European nations need to be 'extra vigilant and step up alerts' given that Iran 'has long planned contingency plans for terror operations in the West'. 'That's a risk that everyone should be alert for, especially Israel and the Jewish community, and Iran still retains that capability through the IRGC or its intelligence ministry,' Mr Brodsky said. 'They will also hire criminal networks to foment terror and undertake operations. And there are also Iranian dissidents that the regime targets. These are potential risks to look at and policymakers need to make it clear to Iran that any operations will be viewed as akin to an act of war.' Speaking before Israel's attack, the UK's Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, announced the creation of a 'counter-hybrid taskforce' aimed at combating the activities of states such as Iran. Tehran has been developing hybrid warfare tactics including using cyberattacks, proxies and propaganda. Mr Lammy said Britain's diplomats 'will be ready for this murky new age of sabotage and subterfuge'. Iranian actors and criminals working for them have been known to carry court surveillance and reconnaissance, with the intention of carrying out serious violence. Announcing sanctions against Majid and his Foxtrot network, the US Treasury said Iran was 'increasingly' using criminal networks as proxies so it could maintain plausible deniability for operations against its enemies. 'Iran's brazen use of transnational criminal organisations and narcotics traffickers underscores the regime's attempts to achieve its aims through any means, with no regard for the cost to communities across Europe,' said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Iran has sought to assassinate dissidents through other criminal networks, including that of Iranian drug trafficker Naji Ibrahim Sharifi-Zindashti, who had sanctions imposed on him by the US last January. Known as 'the Big Guy', he allegedly organised the attempted murder for hire of two residents of the state of Maryland. Tehran has also used foreign individuals, known in the spying trade as 'disposable assets', to harass opponents of the regime, including employees of Iran International, a London -based dissident television channel. In December 2023, Magomed-Husejn Dovtaev, a Chechnya-born Austrian citizen was found guilty of spying on the broadcaster. Iran International was forced to move to new high-security studios after being shut down following alleged threats from the Iranian state. Two Romanian citizens were charged in December 2024 over the stabbing of Iran International journalist Pouria Zeraati. Iran International spokesman Adam Baillie said: 'We are watching developments closely and we remain as ever on high alert for the security implications.'
The National
16 minutes ago
- The National
Europe must choose: reform and resilience − or drift into irrelevance
Donald Trump has been called many things but his newest label – the great unifier of Europe – might just stick. That provocative notion may raise eyebrows in Brussels, Paris, or Berlin, but Mr Trump's return could be the shock that finally compels Europe to do what it has long known it must: to become more self-reliant. The world has changed. Russia's war in Ukraine shattered the illusion of permanent peace in the region. China 's economic ascendancy is reshaping global competition. And now, with Mr Trump launching a trade offensive against allies and adversaries alike, one truth is impossible to ignore: no one is coming to Europe's rescue. For too long, Europe has assumed that peace, prosperity and US protection were permanent. That illusion is gone. Mr Trump's transactional approach to alliances – where strength is rewarded and weakness punished – has exposed a hard truth: Europe can no longer outsource its defence. His worldview owes more to 19th-century protectionism than 20th-century idealism. But the implications extend beyond defence. Mr Trump's America is not merely retreating from global leadership – it is actively dismantling the postwar order that enabled Europe's rise. Nato, the World Trade Organisation, the International Monetary Fund – these institutions anchored European prosperity and security. That architecture may not include Europe by default next time. Unless Europe steps up, it risks being left behind. Europe faces a choice: reform and lead or stagnate and drift. The first path begins with taking responsibility for its own defence. That demands more than budget increases, with Germany poised to channel as much as €1 trillion ($1.15 trillion) into defence and infrastructure under Chancellor Friedrich Merz. It means aligning strategic priorities, co-ordinating procurement, and deepening military integration – ideally through a 'coalition of the willing', rather than waiting for unanimity. This group could include the UK, Norway, Canada and, potentially, Switzerland. Europe must also fix its chronic economic underperformance. Between 2014 and 2023, nominal US GDP grew 57 per cent; the euro area just 15 per cent. That gap reflects more than demographics – it points to structural inefficiencies. Fragmented capital markets and limited access to risk capital force many European entrepreneurs to look abroad. A genuine capital markets union would change that, unlocking investment in green tech, artificial intelligence, life sciences and more. It's not just about growth. Innovation is the new battleground. Energy is the third pillar. The war in Ukraine didn't cause Europe's energy crisis, but it exposed the risks of dependence. Swapping Russian gas for American liquefied natural gas won't delivery energy security. Resilience will come from accelerating renewables, upgrading grids, building storage and revisiting nuclear energy – not just for climate goals, but for sovereignty. In this optimistic future, Europe is more integrated, more dynamic and more secure. It competes globally and stands on its own terms. The second path is easier – for now. No hard choices. No integration. Just drift. In that future, defence stays fragmented. Capital remains trapped. Europe continues to punch below its weight. And, as the world grows more volatile, Europe becomes less relevant. We've seen this before. In the mid-1980s, Europe was adrift – weak growth, institutional fatigue, geopolitical anxiety. Then-US president Ronald Reagan's arms race unnerved many after a decade of detente. Europe responded with the 1986 Single European Act, which laid the groundwork for the single market. It streamlined decision-making and revived the integration agenda. Europe rose to the moment then – and it must again. This time, the stakes are higher. The next round of reforms must secure not just prosperity, but sovereignty. Business has a role to play too. Just as industrial leaders helped drive integration in the 1990s, today's chief executives must help shape Europe's renewal − not just because it's good policy, but because a fragmented, inward-looking Europe is bad for business and worse for society. Leaders like Henrik Andersen, chief executive of Danish wind turbine maker Vestas, offer a useful example. He has urged Brussels to align energy, trade and industrial policy – not out of idealism, but because Europe's competitiveness in clean tech depends on it. So what must Europe do − urgently and decisively? First, it must provide for its own defence. With US electoral cycles growing ever more unpredictable, European security can no longer hinge on transatlantic assumptions. A credible defence posture is essential − not to replace Nato, but to rebalance it. Second, Europe must unlock capital and innovation. Fragmented financial markets continue to stifle scale and ambition. While North America accounts for 60 per cent of global scale-ups, the EU claims just 8 per cent. A capital markets union is now critical to mobilise European savings, fund its own innovation, and reduce reliance on US capital. Third, the green transition must accelerate − not simply as a climate imperative, but as a strategy for resilience and sovereignty. Renewables, and where appropriate nuclear, should anchor an energy strategy capable of withstanding geopolitical shocks. And finally, Europe must engage globally with coherence and purpose. It has a foreign minister, but still lacks a foreign policy. That must change. Building stable, values-driven partnerships with powers like India, Saudi Arabia and even China will be essential if Europe is to remain an active shaper − rather than a passive observer − of the global order. It's one of history's ironies: Mr Trump may be the catalyst for European renewal. By making US commitments less reliable, he's made European responsibility unavoidable. By rejecting global rules, he's made European leadership indispensable. This is not just another chapter in Europe's integration story. The world has changed − and with it, the stakes. The time for hesitation is over.
The National
6 hours ago
- The National
Iran says Israel's actions a 'declaration of war' and accuses US of supporting strikes
Iran 's envoy to the UN accused the US on Friday of providing full political and intelligence support to Israeli strikes on Iranian territory, calling the attacks a 'declaration of war' that killed dozens, including civilians. Iranian ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani told the UN Security Council that 78 people had been killed in the strikes, with more than 320 others injured. 'The majority of them are civilians, including women and children,' he said. 'We will not forget that our people lost their lives as a result of the Israeli attacks with American weapons. These actions amount to a declaration of war.' He accused Israel of seeking to derail nuclear deal negotiations with the US and escalate tension in the region. 'This aggression was intentional, co-ordinated and fully backed by a permanent member of this council,' he said. 'The United States' complicity in this terrorist attack is beyond doubt." Israel's ambassador to the UN Danny Danon echoed this, saying the strikes on Iran are an act of "national preservation' which it undertook alone. 'Imagine when the head of the snake would do with a nuclear warhead?' he said. 'We acted because history has taught us that silence is complicity and hesitation is fatal.' He told the council that Israeli intelligence had confirmed that Iran could have produced enough fissile material for several nuclear bombs within days. 'We struck the core of the nuclear programme, the underground enrichment facilities at Natanz. This facility was operating at a military grade capacity. Intelligence confirmed that within days, Iran could have produced enough material for multiple bombs,' he said. On Thursday, Iran was censured by the UN's nuclear watchdog for not complying with obligations meant to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. US senior State Department official McCoy Pitt told the council that Washington was informed in advance of Israel's strikes on Iranian targets but was not militarily involved. Mr Pitt said Israel had advised the US that 'this action' was necessary for its self-defence. 'Every sovereign nation has the right to defend itself, and Israel is no exception,' he said. 'President [Donald] Trump has repeatedly said, this dangerous regime cannot be allowed to have nuclear weapons.' He added that Washington continues to pursue a diplomatic solution aimed at preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons or 'threatening' regional stability. 'Iran's leadership would be wise to negotiate at this time,' he asserted. The head of the UN nuclear watchdog told the Security Council that the aboveground section of Iran's pilot fuel enrichment plant at Natanz where uranium was being enriched up to 60 per cent has been destroyed in recent Israeli strikes. 'This facility houses both the main fuel enrichment plant and the pilot enrichment plant,' said International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Grossi. Mr Grossi said radiation levels at the Natanz site remained unchanged, with no external radiological impact on the population or the environment. However, he warned of contamination risks within the facility. 'There is radiological and chemical contamination inside the Natanz facilities due to the impacts,' he said. Mr Grossi also said that Iranian authorities informed them of attacks on two other nuclear facilities, Fordow and Isfahan, 'where a fuel plate fabrication plant, a fuel manufacturing plant, a uranium conversion facility … are located'. Russia strongly condemned Israel's attacks on Iran, with its ambassador saying the "military adventure pushes the region to the brink of a large-scale war, and the responsibility for all of the consequences of these actions lies fully with the Israeli leadership and those who encourage them". 'One is left with the impression that the leadership of Israel is convinced that they have a completely free hand in the region, and they probably think that Israel can flout any legal norms and replace all international bodies, including the Security Council and IAEA,' Vasily Nebenzya said. China's ambassador Fu Cong urged Israel to immediately cease all military 'adventurism' and called on countries with 'significant' influence over Israel to play a 'constructive' role.
