Germany’s exports unexpectedly decreased by 2.5 percent in January due to declining external sales to the United States and European Union (EU) countries. The Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis) released the country’s foreign trade figures for January. Accordingly, seasonally and calendar-adjusted exports in the country fell by 2.5 percent to 129.2 billion euros compared to the previous month. Expectations for January’s export data were a 0.5 percent increase compared to the previous month. Export to EU member countries in January fell by 4.2 percent to 69.8 billion euros. Export to countries outside the EU, which are referred to as third countries, decreased by 0.4 percent to 59.4 billion euros. TRADE SURPLUS DECLINED Import in January in Germany increased by 1.2 percent to 113.1 billion euros. Thus, Germany’s seasonally and calendar-adjusted foreign trade surplus was approximately 16 billion euros. The trade surplus was 20.7 billion euros in December 2024 and 25.3 billion euros in January 2024. Compared to January 2024, the country’s exports decreased by 0.1 percent, while imports increased by 8.7 percent. A part of Germany’s 57 billion euros of imports in January was from the EU. Compared to January 2024, imports from EU countries decreased by 1.1 percent. INCREASE IN IMPORTS FROM TURKEY On the other hand, Germany’s exports to its main trading partner China decreased by 0.9 percent to 6.7 billion euros in January compared to the previous month. Import from China also decreased by 2.8 percent to 12.9 billion euros. During the same period, exports to the United States decreased by 4.2 percent to 13 billion euros, while imports from the U.S. increased by 6.5 percent to 8 billion euros. It is noteworthy that Germany’s exports to its other key trading partner, the United Kingdom, increased by approximately 18.8 percent to 3.6 billion euros in January. Meanwhile, Germany’s exports to Turkey in January increased by 7 percent to 2.4 billion euros, and imports increased by 9.6 percent to 2.4 billion euros.