CSA Canadian Securities Administrators : EU’s overskud steg til mere end 186 mia. EUR i 2018

20/2020 - 28 January 2020

International trade in services

EU surplus up to over €186 bn in 2018

The USA continued to be the main partner for both exports and imports

The European Union (EU) surplus in trade in services, which fell between 2013 and 2016, increased to €154.0 bn in 2017, then to €186.3 bn in 2018. This is the result of EU exports of services to the rest of the world rising by 3%, from €933.4 bn in 2017 to €961.0 bn in 2018, while EU imports decreased by 0.6%, from €779.5 bn to €774.7 bn.

These data, issued by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, are subject to revision.

EU has largest surplus with EFTA countries

In 2018, the main partners for EU exports of services remained the United States (€257.4 billion, or 27% of total EU exports) and the four EFTA countries together (€152.4 bn, 16%), well ahead of China (€51.8 bn, 5%), Japan (€36.3 bn, 4%) and Singapore (€34.5 bn, also 4%). The main partner for EU imports of services also continued to be the United States (€236.4 bn, 31% of total EU imports), followed by the EFTA countries (€90.7 bn, 12%), ahead of China (€31.9 bn, 4%), Singapore (€26.3 bn, 3%), India (€21.4 bn, 3%) and Japan (€21.0 bn, 3%). The EU recorded surpluses with almost all its main partners in 2018, except India (-€4.1 bn), Turkey (-€2.0 bn) and Hong Kong (-€0.3 bn). Among the main partners, the largest surplus was observed in trade with the EFTA countries (+€61.6 bn), ahead of the United States (+€21.0 bn), China (+€20.0 bn), Russia (+€16.0 bn) and Japan (+€15.2 bn).

Compared with 2017, the EU deficit turned into a surplus with the other countries (from -€1.9 bn in 2017 to +€19.0 bn in 2018) and a significant increase in the EU surplus can be noted with the Unites States (from +€14.6 bn in 2017 to +€21.0 bn in 2018) and China (from +€14.9 bn in 2017 to +€20.0 bn in 2018). The surplus remained stable at €61.6 bn with EFTA countries. In contrast, the EU surplus fell with Russia (from +€17.4 bn in 2017 to +€16.0 bn in 2018) and Hong Kong (from +€1.0 bn in 2017 to -€0.3 bn in 2018), and the deficit increased with India (from -€3.1 bn in 2017 to -€4.1 bn in 2018) and Turkey (from -€1.5 bn in 2017 to -€2.0 bn in 2018).

EU trade in services by selected partner (€ bn and %)

		2017				2018
	Exports	Imports	Balance	Exports	Share in	Imports	Share in	Balance
	total exports	total imports
Total	933.4	779.5	154.0	961.0		774.7		186.3
USA	250.3	235.7	14.6	257.4	27%	236.4	31%	21.0
EFTA countries	153.2	91.6	61.6	152.4	16%	90.7	12%	61.6
China	46.5	31.6	14.9	51.8	5%	31.9	4%	20.0
Singapore	30.1	24.0	6.1	34.5	4%	26.3	3%	8.2
Japan	33.5	19.6	13.9	36.3	4%	21.0	3%	15.2
Russia	30.1	12.8	17.4	29.2	3%	13.2	2%	16.0
Canada	22.8	13.7	9.1	24.9	3%	15.7	2%	9.2
India	16.2	19.2	-3.1	17.3	2%	21.4	3%	-4.1
Australia	23.8	9.7	14.1	24.4	3%	10.1	1%	14.3
Hong Kong	14.0	13.0	1.0	14.5	2%	14.8	2%	-0.3
Turkey	12.2	13.7	-1.5	13.0	1%	15.0	2%	-2.0
Brazil	16.1	8.4	7.7	16.1	2%	8.0	1%	8.1
Other countries	284.7	286.6	-1.9	289.2	30%	270.2	35%	19.0
Source dataset: bop_its6_det			The figures shown in the tables may not exactly add up due to rounding.

EU surplus largely sustained by ICT services

The main components of EU exports of services were "other business services" (R&D, business, professional & technical services) which accounted for over a quarter of EU total exports (27%) in 2018, followed by transport (17%) and travel (15%), ICT services (14%), financial services (9%) and charges for the use of intellectual property (8%). "Other business services" were also the largest category of services imported by the EU (30% of EU imports), ahead of transport (18%), charges for the use of intellectual property (16%) and travel (15%).

In 2018, ICT services remained the largest contributor to the EU surplus (+€81.7 bn), ahead of financial services (+€38.2 bn), transport (+€27.8 bn), and travel (+€27.5 bn). In contrast, a deficit was recorded for charges for the use of intellectual property (-€46.9 bn), and personal, cultural and recreational services ((-€0.7 bn).

EU trade in services by type of services (€ bn and %)

	2017				2018
					Share in		Share in
	Exports	Imports	Balance	Exports	total	Imports	total	Balance
					exports		imports

Total Services	933.4	779.5	154.0	961.0		774.7		186.3
Manufacturing services on physical inputs
owned by others	20.4	12.7	7.7	20.9	2%	13.2	2%	7.8
Maintenance and repair services n.i.e.	15.1	11.9	3.2	16.4	2%	12.8	2%	3.6
Transport	155.3	127.0	28.3	163.3	17%	135.5	18%	27.8
Travel	138.2	109.0	29.1	141.1	15%	113.6	15%	27.5
Construction	11.5	4.5	7.0	10.0	1%	4.8	1%	5.2
Insurance and pension services	28.1	13.3	14.7	27.8	3%	13.4	2%	14.5
Financial services	88.5	47.5	41.0	87.3	9%	49.2	6%	38.2
Charges for the use of intellectual property
n.i.e.	75.5	117.7	-42.3	76.8	8%	123.6	16%	-46.9
Telecommunications, computer and
information services (ICT)	124.4	52.6	71.8	136.2	14%	54.5	7%	81.7
Other business services	256.9	264.4	-7.5	259.8	27%	235.5	30%	24.4
Research and development services	47.1	86.0	-38.9	44.3	5%	55.7	7%	-11.4
Professional and management
consulting services	77.6	65.3	12.3	87.1	9%	68.2	9%	18.9
Technical, trade-related, and other
business services	132.2	113.1	19.0	128.4	13%	111.6	14%	16.9
Personal, cultural, and recreational services	11.4	12.7	-1.3	12.0	1%	12.7	2%	-0.7
Government goods and services n.i.e.	7.5	5.8	1.7	8.9	1%	6.0	1%	2.8
Services not allocated	0.7	0.2	0.6	0.5	0%	0.1	0%	0.4
Source dataset: bop_its6_det		The figures shown in the tables may not exactly add up due to rounding.

Geographical information

The European Union (EU) includes Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

EFTA (European Free Trade Association) includes Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

The full geographical breakdown of the services account is available on the Eurostat website. All figures can be downloaded from the balance of payments section.

Methods and definitions

The main methodological references used for the production of statistics on international trade in services are the International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s sixth balance of payments manual(BPM6) and the United Nations' manual on statistics of international trade in services.

International trade in services is geographically allocated according to the residence of the trading partner.

Revisions and time table

The annual statistics on EU international trade in services are collected under the BPM6 methodology. Figures are provided by the Member States to Eurostat nine months after the reference period. The annual data covered in this News Release will be revised in one year's time when revised data will be transmitted by Member States. The figures shown in the tables may not exactly add up due to rounding.

For more information

Eurostat website sectiondedicated to statistics on international trade in services

Eurostat databaseon balance of payments and international transactions

Eurostat metadataon international trade in services

Themes in the Spotlightpage on the EU trade in services.

Eurostat Press Office	Production of data and methodology
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	Georgios PAPADOPOULOS
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Eurostat Statistics

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