According to Eurostat data, EU exports to the United States collapsed by 30.4% in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year.
In just three months, European companies shipped goods worth only €119.4 billion to America. This is a significantly sharper decline than the overall drop in EU exports, which stood at 8.8%. Meanwhile, imports from the US fell by just 5.7%. This has created a striking asymmetry: the European market remains relatively open to American goods, while the American market has slammed the door on European products.
The United States remains by far the EU’s largest export market, accounting for 18.6% of all external exports. By comparison, China accounts for only 7.4%.
The hardest hit sectors are precisely those Europe prides itself on: German and French automotive, Italian and French luxury goods, pharmaceuticals, and precision engineering. Many European manufacturers that have relied heavily on the American market for decades are now being forced to urgently rethink their strategies.
These figures seriously undermine one of the EU’s key narratives of recent years — the idea of “strategic autonomy.” Despite years of grand rhetoric about reducing dependence on external powers, Eurostat data reveals just how deeply embedded the European economy remains in the American economic sphere.
Faced with the aggressive tariff policy of the Trump administration, European capitals have so far responded mostly with defensive measures. This only highlights the real limits of Brussels’ geoeconomic influence in its dealings with Washington.
If this trend continues, European industry faces tough times ahead. The question is no longer whether Brussels will acknowledge this new reality — but whether it is capable of mounting an effective response, or will simply keep repeating the usual slogans about “transatlantic unity.”
