Brussels – EU-United States, the trade balance smiles on the Europeans, who in the first quarter of the year recorded a surplus of €12.8 billion. It means that between the “made in USA” goods and services bought and imported into the single market and the “made in EU” goods and services sold and exported overseas, the European trade component is ahead of the American one. This is what Eurostat data released today (3 July) show, and which will not please US President Donald Trump, who, due to relations considered unbalanced to the detriment of Washington, threatened tariffs, currently suspended until 9 July.
The intention and threats of tariffs on European products prompted EU companies and operators to buy more in advance to avoid cost overruns, thus anticipating the White House’s moves. Nevertheless, the trade balance smiles on the EU. Only overall, though. 
Upon closer examination, we find that the EU has a trade surplus in goods compared to the US. At the end of the first quarter of 2025, the EU had a surplus of €97.6 billion, which is almost twice as much as in the First Quarter of 2024 (€55.3 billion). Conversely, when examining the tertiary sector, the EU has a trade deficit in services of 53.1 billion compared to its US partner, representing an increased imbalance compared to the same period in 2024 (-37.5 billion).
The figures, therefore, do not help to untie the knot of a dispute in which each continues to defend its own reasons. On the one hand, Trump’s USA, which wants to rebalance a trade balance considered to be tilted too much in favour of the Europeans, on the other hand, the EU, which argues that the liabilities in services show that the White House tenant’s claims do not fully reflect the reality of the facts.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
