The EU's trade surplus with the US is growing, the deficit with China is widening

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The EU's trade surplus with the United States and its deficit with China rose in January, fueling trade disputes between the world's largest economies.

The EU's trade surplus with the US reached 11.5 billion euros in January, compared with 10.1 billion euros in January 2018, the European Statistical Office Eurostat announced .

With China, the EU deficit has also increased to 21.4 billion euros, compared to 20.8 billion a year earlier.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly complained about Europe's trade surplus with his country, imposing tariffs to limit EU imports of steel and aluminum and threatening to even for the much larger trade in cars and spare parts.

China's trade surplus with the European Union is also a source of tension between the two countries, with the Union being more badertive towards Beijing, for example by establishing a 10-point plan to balance the ties between the two countries. economic and by pushing China to open up

Overall, the EU 's trade deficit in goods stood at 24.9 billion euros in January, compared with 21.4 billion euros in January 2018. For the euro area, its trade surplus rose from 3.1 billion euros to 1.5 billion euros.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the overall euro area surplus increased slightly over the month and the EU's trade deficit decreased in January compared to December 2018.