German trade surplus with U.S. reduced in 2018, - Reuters

Reuters reported that Germany’s trade surplus with the United States, a frequent source of tension with the U.S. President Donald Trump, decreased in 2018 but nonetheless remained at around 49 billion euros ($55.37 billion).

Preliminary estimates from the Federal Statistics Office showed that German exports to the U.S. increased by 1.5 percent to a record high of 113.5 billion euros in 2018. That implied the United States remained the biggest buyer of “Made in Germany” goods - ahead of France, which purchased 105 billion euros’ worth, and China, which bought 93 billion euros’ worth.

Meanwhile, German imports from the U.S. rose by nearly 4 percent to 64.6 billion euros. 

That meant the surplus with the United States was around a billion euros smaller than in 2017. But it was still the largest surplus Germany has with any country and accounts for more than a fifth of Germany’s overall export surplus of around 228 billion euros in 2018.

China remained Germany’s most important trade partner in 2018, with the two countries exchanging goods worth around 200 billion euros. German exports to China surged by around 8 percent to 93 billion euros last year while imports from China climbed by almost 4 percent to 106 billion euros.