The trade deficit between the United States and the European Union is significantly smaller than the number claimed by US President Donald Trump, European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said Tuesday.
Speaking while signing executive orders in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump claimed there was a $350 billion deficit between the United States and the European Union.
Ahead of a meeting of EU trade and industry ministers in Warsaw, Sefcovic said the EU would base any “discussions with the new US administration on real facts and figures.”
More on the figures: However, due to the different way trade deficits are calculated, there is discrepancy between the US and the EU about how large the deficit is. In calculating their data, the European Commission said that the “true value” is often unclear, and “could lie between the two partner estimates or even outside that range.”
In the latest available data from the European Commission, according to their figures for 2023, the EU posted a trade surplus for goods exported to the US of $161.7 billion (155.8 billion of euros).
Alternatively, according to US census data for the same period, the US’s trade deficit to the EU was $208.7 billion
In 2024, it was almost $213.7 billion, census data said. The EU has not yet published its report for last year.
Despite the discrepancy in the two figures, the gap is significantly less than the number touted by Trump on Sunday.
Sefcovic added that through “constructive engagement and discussion” the European Commission can work to resolve the deficit between the US and the EU. He said he was hoping to avoid “a lot of disturbance to the most important trade and investment relationship on this planet.”
“We are prepared for these negotiations, but also at the same time, it’s very clear that if it [the EU] would be hit unfairly or arbitrarily, we will respond firmly,” he said.
After the meeting, European Commission Vice President, Stephane Sejourne said: “If we have a trade war, we’ll all be losers.”
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