US set to overtake China as Germany's top trade partner -DIHK ( www.reuters.com )
The United States is set to overtake China as Germany's most important trade partner by 2025 at the latest if current trends continue, according to the head of foreign trade at the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK).
German exports and imports to China together totalled around 253 billion euros ($272 billion) last year, according to calculations by Reuters based on preliminary data from the Federal Statistics Office.
That means China would remain the number one trade partner of Europe's largest economy for the eighth consecutive year, but only by a hair: Trade volume with the U.S. was tallied at 252.3 billion euros.
Continuing growth in German exports to the U.S. is the main reason for the latter's ascendance, with goods worth almost 158 billion euros sent across the Atlantic last year, increasing the U.S. share of Germany's total exports to around 10%.
