📈 U.S.-EU Export Interdependence: Diverging Trends Since the Global Financial Crisis

The EU’s reliance on exports to the U.S. increased from 1.9% of GDP in 2008 to 3.0% in 2024, while the U.S. reliance on exports to the EU declined from 1.8% of GDP to 1.3% over the same period. As a result, the EU’s export dependence on the U.S. is now 131% higher than the U.S. export dependence on the EU, reflecting a growing asymmetry in trade relations.

Since the Global Financial Crisis, trade between the U.S. and the European Union has followed divergent trends relative to each economy's GDP. The EU’s trade with the U.S. as a share of GDP increased, reaching 4.8% in 2024, while the U.S. trade with the EU declined to 3.4% of GDP. This gap—where the EU’s trade dependence on the U.S. is 44% higher—has been further intensified by the economic shifts following the Ukraine war.