BRUSSELS, 5th October, 2024 (WAM) -- In 2023, the EU imported €478 billion worth of high-tech products, a slight decrease compared with 2022 (-1 percent). At the same time, exports reached €461 billion (+3 percent compared with 2022), according to figures released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
Over half of the EU’s high-tech imports in 2023 came from China (32 percent; €155 billion) and the United States (23 percent; €108 billion), with other top partners being Switzerland (7 percent; €31 billion), Taiwan (6 percent; €28 billion) and the United Kingdom and Vietnam (each 4 percent; €20 and €19 billion respectively).
Electronics-telecommunications accounted for the largest share of high-tech imports from non-EU countries (39 percent), for which China was the largest partner. Computers and office machines as well as pharmacy both accounted for 15 percent of high-tech imports, most of which came from China and the United States respectively. Electronics-telecommunications made up the largest share of imports from Vietnam (73 percent of high-tech imports from Vietnam; €14 billion), Taiwan and China (each 58 percent; €16 billion and €89 billion, respectively).
For Switzerland, the largest category was pharmacy (70 percent of high-tech imports from Switzerland; €22 billion). For the United States (35 percent; €37 billion) and the United Kingdom (30 percent; €6 billion), it was aerospace.
In 2023, the United States was the top trading partner (28 percent; €128 billion) for high-tech exports to non-EU countries. China followed (11 percent; €49 billion), ahead of the United Kingdom (10 percent; €44 billion), Switzerland (6 percent; €28 billion), Japan and Türkiye (each 3 percent; €15 billion and €14 billion, respectively).
Pharmacy made up the largest share (30 percent) of overall high-tech exports to non-EU countries, with the United States being the top partner. Electronics-telecommunications (20 percent) and aerospace (18 percent) followed, with China and the United States as the leading partners in these sectors respectively.