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Olan McEvoy
Research expert covering the European Union for society, economy, and politics.
Get in touch with us nowThe European Union has experienced a shift in its biggest trade partners since the early 2000s. Over the past two decades, the share of EU imports flowing from China has more than doubled, from around 8 percent in 2002 to over 20 percent in 2023, making China the EU's largest external import partner. At the same time, the proportion of total imports coming from the United Kingdom, which was historically a large importer to EU countries (the UK was an EU member state until 2020), have more than halved, from 18 percent to 7 percent.
This secular trend existed before the UK voted to leave the EU in 2016, however, there has been a notable drop in imports from the UK since Brexit was enacted in 2020. By contrast the share of the EU's import trade taken by the U.S., Switzerland, and the Rest of World have remained relatively stable over this period. The share of exports coming from Russia was growing steadily in the period before 2014, after which the EU imposed economic sanctions on Russia due to the illegal annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. Imports from Russia collapsed in 2023, due to the effect of the additional economic sanctions placed on Russia in response to the full scale invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022.The Russian Federation is now only the tenth largest exporter to the EU, after India, Japan, and South Korea.
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Overview of EU International Trade
Balance of Trade
Exports
Imports
Bilateral Trade
* For commercial use only
Basic Account
Starter Account
Professional Account
1 All prices do not include sales tax. The account requires an annual contract and will renew after one year to the regular list price.