EU achieved a surplus in trade of high-tech products of 32.4 billion euros

The European Union achieved a surplus of 32.4 billion euros in trade of high-tech products for the second consecutive year in 2025, with the United States being by far the largest export market, Eurostat announced today.

The value of imports of high-tech products last year was 534.1 billion euros, while exports amounted to 566.5 billion.

After four consecutive years of trade deficit, from 2020 to 2023, the EU achieved a surplus in the high-tech sector of 23 billion euros in 2024, and 32 billion the following year.

Since 2015, imports have increased by an average of six percent annually, or a total of 239.9 billion euros, while the annual export growth rate was seven percent, resulting in an increase of 265.4 billion euros over 10 years.

More than half of the high-tech products imported by the EU in 2025 came from China and the USA.

Goods worth 150.4 billion euros (28 percent of total imports) were imported from China, mainly electronics and telecommunications products, computers, and office machines.

A quarter of the products were imported from the USA, mostly products from the aerospace industry and pharmaceutical products, with a total value of 131.4 billion euros.

Switzerland ranks third, with a six percent share. The value of imports from that country was 32.6 billion euros, and the majority (71 percent) were pharmaceutical products.

When it comes to exports, the USA was the main destination for high-tech products from the EU.

In 2025, 34 percent of these products, worth a total of 195.1 billion euros, were exported to the American market.

The United Kingdom is in second place, with nine percent of total exports, valued at 52.5 billion euros, and China is in third place, with a share of eight percent and 48.1 billion euros.

EU exported mainly pharmaceutical products to the USA (62 percent of total exports to the USA) and products from the aerospace industry (12 percent).

The same products were exported to the United Kingdom, along with electronic-telecommunications products and scientific instruments.

China imported mostly electronics and telecommunications products (30 percent) from EU countries, followed by aerospace and space industry products (27 percent), scientific instruments (20 percent), and pharmaceutical products (13 percent).