EU high-tech trade back to a surplus in 2024

Brussels: In 2024, the EU imported €478 billion worth of high-tech products, indicating a small decrease of 0.2% compared with 2023, while exports reached €501 billion, up by 8.1% from 2023. The extra-EU trade balance in high-tech products went from a deficit of €15 billion in 2023 to a surplus of €23 billion in 2024, after 4 consecutive trade deficit years.

More than half of the EU’s high-tech imports in 2024 came from China (30%; €141 billion) and the United States (23%; €111 billion), with other top trading partners being Switzerland (6%; €31 billion) and Taiwan (6%; €26 billion), followed by Vietnam (5%; €24 billion) and the United Kingdom (4%; €21 billion).

Electronics-telecommunications accounted for the largest share of high-tech imports from non-EU countries (36%), for which China was the largest trading partner. Computers and office machines represented 18% of imports from non-EU countries, and pharmacy products 15%, mostly coming from China and the United States, respectively.

Electronics-telecommunications made up the largest share of imports from Vietnam (60% of high-tech imports from Vietnam; €14 billion), China (53%; €75 billion) and Taiwan (52%; €14 billion).

For Switzerland, the largest category was pharmacy (70% of high-tech imports from Switzerland; €22 billion).

For the United States (36%; €39 billion) and the United Kingdom (31%; €7 billion), the largest category was aerospace.

In 2024, the United States was the top trading partner (31%; €156 billion) for high-tech exports to non-EU countries. China followed (10%; €49 billion), ahead of the United Kingdom (10%; €48 billion), Switzerland (6%; €29 billion), Japan and Türkiye (each 3%; €15 billion and €14 billion, respectively).

Pharmaceuticals made up the largest share (33%) of overall high-tech exports to non-EU countries, with the United States being the top trading partner. Electronics-telecommunications (19%) and aerospace (18%) followed, with China and the United States as the leading partners in these sectors, respectively.

EU exports of high-tech products, by broup, 2024 (€ billion, % share). Pie charts. Link to full dataset below.

Pharmaceuticals led the high-tech exports for the United States (54% of high-tech exports; €84 billion), Switzerland (51%; €15 billion) and Japan (35%; €5 billion).

The largest exported category for China (32% of high-tech exports; €15 billion) was electronics-telecommunications, while for the United Kingdom (22%; €10 billion) and Türkiye (37%; €5 billion) it was aerospace.