The extra EU trade balance in high-tech products went from a deficit of €15bn in 2023 to a surplus of €23bn in 2024, after four consecutive trade deficit years, according to the EU statistical body Eurostat.
Of the €478bn worth of EU imports last year, more than half of that came from China, accounting for €141bn (30pc) of the overall total, followed by the US at 23pc and then Switzerland at 6pc.
Electronics-telecommunications made up the largest share of high-tech imports from non-EU countries (36pc), for which China was the largest trading partner, it said.
Computers and office machines came in second at 18pc of imports from non-EU countries, then followed by pharmacy products at 15pc, the majority coming from China and the United States.
Breaking down individual countries, the electronics-telecommunications subsector made up the largest share of imports for Asian countries such as Vietnam with 60pc, followed by China at 53pc and then Taiwan at 52pc.
For the US at 36pc and the UK reaching 31pc the largest category within the high-tech sector was aerospace for the two nations.
For Switzerland, the largest subsector was pharmacy at 70pc of their overall total imports, it said.
Additionally, the extra-EU imports of sporting goods amounted to €10.8bn, accounting for 0.4pc of total EU imports.
“Sports footwear”, “gym, swim and athletic equipment” and “boats and water sport equipment” were the main categories in terms of value.
The main import partners for sporting goods last year were China, with €4.5bn, and Vietnam at €1.9bn.
In terms of outgoings, the US was the top trading partner for EU high-tech exports. Sending a total of €156bn to the country, China then followed at €49bn, just ahead of the UK with €48bn.
Pharmaceuticals made up the largest share at 33pc of overall high-tech exports to non-EU countries, with the US being the top of the list once again.
Electronics-telecommunications at 19pc and aerospace with 18pc then followed, China and the US were both the leading partners in these sectors, it said.
The largest exported category for China with 32pc of high-tech exports (€15bn) was electronics-telecommunications, while for the United Kingdom it was €10bn for the aerospace category.
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