Germany’s Surplus & America's Deficit

Europe’s economic powerhouse Germany is highly dependent on exports, while the United States on the contrary imports many more goods than it exports. One important aspect of economic policies proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump is to remedy the American imbalance by reinvesting in and protecting American manufacturing.

Indeed, the U.S. is Germany’s most important trading partner. Germany exported goods and services worth some $ 120 billion to the United States 2015, of which the biggest single item was automobiles with a combined worth of $ 36 billion. It’s not hard to imagine that Germany would be hit hard by any trade barriers set up by the new U.S. administration.