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Trump has frequently criticized the large trade surplus that
Europe's biggest economy has with the United States and has
threatened to put tariffs on German cars in return.
But German Chancellor Angela Merkel has questioned Trump's
analysis, saying that trade surpluses were calculated in an
old-fashioned way and that the United States runs a large
account surplus with Europe if services are included in the
total.
In June, Merkel suggested that existing international trade
accounting systems should be updated.
Preliminary calculations from the Federal Statistics Office
showed that German exports to the United States rose by 1.5
percent to a record high of 113.5 billion euros in 2018.
That meant the United States remained the biggest buyer of "Made
in Germany" goods -- ahead of France, which purchased 105
billion euros' worth, and China, which bought 93 billion euros'
worth.
German imports from the United States increased by around 4
percent to 64.6 billion euros.
That meant the surplus with the United States was around a
billion euros smaller than in 2017. But it was still the largest
surplus Germany has with any country and accounts for more than
a fifth of Germany's overall export surplus of around 228
billion euros in 2018.
China remained Germany's most important trade partner in 2018,
with the two countries exchanging goods worth almost 200 billion
euros.
German exports to China increased by around 8 percent to 93
billion euros last year while imports from China rose by around
4 percent to 106 billion euros.
($1 = 0.8850 euros)
(Reporting by Rene Wagner; Writing by Michelle Martin; Editing
by Catherine Evans)
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