The European Union recorded a deficit of 21.800 billion euros in its trade of goods with non-EU countries during the second quarter of 2026, after imports reached 701.800 billion euros and surpassed exports valued at 680.000 billion, according to data published by Eurostat.
This is the first quarterly trade deficit of the EU since the second quarter of 2023. That period closed a succession of negative balances that Eurostat links to the increase in energy costs recorded between late 2021 and mid-2023.
The evolution of the second quarter of this year responds mainly to the increase in the deficit corresponding to energy products. The negative balance of this category rose from 71.300 billion euros in the first quarter of 2026 to 101.100 billion between April and June.
The deficit corresponding to raw materials also increased, from 7.900 to 9.400 billion euros, while in other manufactured products it rose from 8.300 to 9.100 billion.
These movements were compounded by the reduction of the trade surplus of machinery and transport equipment. This category went from a positive balance of 24.900 billion euros during the first quarter to 23.200 billion in the second. In the group of other goods, the surplus decreased from 11.600 to 9.100 billion.
The evolution was different in chemical and related products, whose surplus increased from 47.100 billion euros in the first quarter to 54.000 billion in the second. Food, beverages, and tobacco also increased their positive balance, from 10.700 to 11.500 billion.
The seasonally adjusted data from Eurostat also shows growth in both flows of foreign trade during the second quarter, although with a greater variation in purchases made outside the EU.
Imports grew by 9.9% compared to the previous quarter, which represented an increase of 63.400 billion euros. Exports increased by 5.4%, equivalent to an additional 34.900 billion. This difference between both movements placed the aggregate balance back in negative territory.
The evolution represents a change from the trend observed since mid-2025. According to Eurostat, both exports and imports had decreased since the second quarter of last year, a trend that stopped during the first quarter of 2026. The European statistical agency notes that these declines had been partially attributed to tariff tensions.
The quarterly series from 2021 to 2026 reflects the variations experienced by the European trade balance during this period. The EU maintained a surplus of approximately 50.000 billion euros in the first quarter of 2021 before starting a deterioration that brought the trade balance to negative territory by the end of that same year.
The deficit increased during 2022 and reached its lowest level in the series in the third quarter of that year, with a negative balance close to 150.000 billion euros, according to the graph published by Eurostat.
Since then, the balance has been recovering until returning to positive values during 2023. The EU subsequently maintained trade surpluses during 2024 and 2025 and in the first quarter of 2026. In the second quarter of this year, the balance has again fallen into negative territory, with the mentioned 21.800 billion euros.
The information from Eurostat classifies products according to the Uniform Classification for International Trade (SITC, by its acronym in English). The categories used include food, beverages, and tobacco; raw materials; energy products; chemicals and related products; machinery and equipment; other manufactured products; and other goods.
