United States

The European Union and the United States have the world's largest bilateral trade and investment relationship, and enjoy the most integrated economic relationship in the world. Taking goods, services and investment into account, the EU and the US are each other’s largest trading partners by far.  

Millions of jobs in the United States are related to EU-US trade and investment. The European Union is a reliable source of critical supplies to the United States, including medicinal ingredients and pharmaceutical products, advanced machinery and equipment, and aerospace parts and components. At the same time, the European Union is the largest buyer of the United States’ natural gas and oil, which is an important element for ensuring transatlantic energy security and to allow a shared strong response to Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine. 

Trade picture

• The transatlantic trade relationship is the most important commercial relationship in the world.
•  EU-US trade in goods and services reached an impressive €1.6 trillion in 2023. This means that every day, €4.4 billion worth of goods and services cross the Atlantic between the EU and the US. 
• EU-US goods and services trade is balanced: the difference between EU exports to the US and US exports to the EU stood at €48 billion in 2023; the equivalent of just 3% of the total trade between the EU and the US.  
• The total bilateral trade in goods reached €851 billion in 2023. The EU exported €503 billion of goods to the US market, while importing €347 billion; this resulted in a goods trade surplus of €157 billion for the EU.
• Total bilateral trade in services between the EU and the US was worth €746 billion in 2023. The EU exported €319 billion of services to the US, while importing €427 billion from the US; this resulted in a services trade deficit of €109 billion for the EU. 
• The EU and the US are also major investment partners. EU and US firms have €5.3 trillion worth of investment in each other’s markets (2022 data).  
• US exports of goods and services to the EU support 2.3 million jobs in the US, and EU firms’ investments in the US employ 3.4 million people. To learn more, visit the EU's Business Footprint in the United States Project. 

Last updated:14/02/2025

The EU and the United States

Statements on recent US announcements 

• Statement by the European Commission on potential imposition of US tariffs on EU steel and aluminium - 10 February 2025 
• Statement by President von der Leyen on announced US tariffs - 11 February 2025
• Statement on the US reciprocal tariff policy - 14 February 2025

The EU-US Trade and Technology Council

The European Union and the United States launched the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) at their summit in Brussels on 15 June 2021. The latest ministerial meeting was held in Leuven on 4 and 5 April 2024. The TTC served as a forum for the EU and the US to coordinate approaches to key global trade, economic and technology issues, and to deepen transatlantic trade and economic relations based on shared democratic values. 

You can find more information on events related to the Trade and Technology Council on the Commission’s dedicated Futurium website. 

Negotiations

Despite the US being the EU’s largest trade and investment partner, there is no dedicated free trade agreement between the EU and the US. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations were launched in 2013, but ended in 2016 without conclusion. They were formally closed in 2019. 

• Background information on the past TTIP negotiations and negotiating texts

Trading with the United States

• Importing into the EU from the United States
  • EU trade defence measures on imports from United States
• Exporting from the EU to the United States
  • Trade defence measures in force in the United States 
• Disputes between the EU and the US: 
  • Airbus-Boeing 
  • Global Sustainable Arrangement on Steel and Aluminium 
• Trade relations are part of the EU's overall political and economic relations with the United States
• United States is a member of the World Trade Organization