German Exports Break Record as Trump Targets Trade Balance
- Country’s trade surplus surged to 252.9 billion euros in 2016
- U.S. said surplus was consequence of grossly undervalued euro
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Germany posted a record trade surplus in 2016, which may further fuel accusations by the Trump administration that Europe’s largest economy is exploiting a “grossly undervalued” euro.
Exports climbed 1.2 percent last year to 1.2 trillion euros ($1.3 trillion), the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden reported on Thursday, while imports rose 0.6 percent to 954.6 billion euros. That left Germany’s trade surplus at 253 billion euros in 2016.