Trade with non-EU countries
German export weakens
08/23/2023 11:59 am
The shrinking business with the USA and China is burdening German exporters. After three months of rising rates, exports fall again in July. The second half of the year is also likely to remain difficult for Germany.
German exports to countries outside the European Union fell in July compared to the previous month. After calendar and seasonal adjustment, the export business with these third countries fell by 2.9 percent, as the Federal Statistical Office reported on the basis of preliminary results. According to this, goods worth 59.0 billion euros were exported to countries outside the EU in July. Not calendar and seasonally adjusted, it was 58.2 billion euros. Compared to the same month last year, exports increased by 1.2 percent.
The USA was again the most important trading partner in July. Goods worth 13.7 billion euros were exported there – an increase of 10.4 percent compared to the same month last year. Trade with China resulted in goods exports amounting to 8.3 billion euros – 6.2 percent less than in July 2022. Trade with third countries covers almost half of all German exports. The leading indicator thus provides the first results for an important part of German foreign trade. Destatis will announce the detailed results for July at the beginning of September.
The shrinking business with the USA and China weighed on German exporters at the end of the difficult first half of the year. Although exports rose in June for the third month in a row, as in May, they were only slightly up 0.1 percent on the previous month. The second half of the year is likely to remain difficult for the European export champion: The mood in the German export industry is currently worse than it has been for more than three years, as the Munich Ifo Institute found out in its monthly company survey in July.