The EU is the world’s most powerful trade entity, collectively responsible for 29.1% of the world’s exported goods valued at $25.637 trillion in 2025. The EU’s percentage share for 2025 reflects an upturn from 28.7% of the global total of $23.92 trillion for 2024.
The dollar value of the EU’s international sales of exports increased by 14.7% from a total $6.498 trillion 5 years earlier in 2021.
Year over year, the EU collected an 8.6% upturn in revenues compared to exports valued at $6.876 trillion during 2024.
In 2025, the top 5 goods exported from the 27-member EU were cars, medication mixes in dosage, blood fractions including antisera, processed petroleum oils, then automobile parts or accessories. In aggregate, those 5 exported product categories equaled nearly one-fifth (19.5%) of the overall value for EU exports.
Please note that the metrics presented in this article focus exclusively on exports from the 27 countries that were EU members at the end of 2025. The United Kingdom formally exited from the EU on January 31, 2020.
European Union’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in EU global shipments during 2025. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from the EU.
- Machinery including computers: US$976.4 billion (13.1% of total exports)
- Vehicles: $831.3 billion (11.2%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $708.4 billion (9.5%)
- Pharmaceuticals: $632.2 billion (8.5%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $362.4 billion (4.9%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $283.9 billion (3.8%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: $273.6 billion (3.7%)
- Organic chemicals: $205.3 billion (2.8%)
- Articles of iron or steel: $150.6 billion (2%)
- Iron, steel: $146.7 billion (2%)
By value, the EU’s top 10 export product categories generated 61.3% of the economic union’s global export sales.
Organic chemicals represent the fastest-growing product category among the EU’s top 10 exports, up by 24.4% from 2024 to 2025.
In second place were EU exports of pharmaceuticals via a 13.1% gain, ahead of the 9.5% increase for the EU’s revenues from exported machinery including computers.
Leading the product category declines were mineral fuels including oil, pulled down by a -3.8% drop year over year.
The other decline was the -0.2% decrease since 2024 for exported iron and steel exported from the EU.
Trade Surpluses for the European Union by Major Products
The EU earned an overall US$226.9 billion surplus in its global trade for 2025. That positive cashflow represents an -8% slowdown from the $246.6 billion trade surplus for 2024.
The following types of EU product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Pharmaceuticals: US$204.3 billion (Up by 6.4% since 2024)
- Machinery including computers: $151.3 billion (Down by -2.5%)
- Vehicles: $117.2 billion (Down by -12.7%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $56.3 billion (Up by 11.4%)
- Perfumes, cosmetics: $37.8 billion (Up by 1.1%)
- Aircraft, spacecraft: $34.5 billion (Down by -4.7%)
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $29.8 billion (Up by 0.4%)
- Cereal/milk preparations: $22 billion (Up by 8.2%)
- Gems, precious metals: $20 billion (Up by 2.4%)
- Dairy, eggs, honey: $19.2 billion (Up by 9%)
The has highly positive net exports in the international trade of pharmaceuticals and related products. In turn, these cashflows indicate the EU’s strong competitive advantages under the pharmaceuticals category.
Trade Deficits for the European Union by Major Products
Below are exports from the EU that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on EU-exported goods trail the European Union’s spending on imported products.
- Mineral fuels including oil: -US$349.1 billion (Down by -5% from 2024)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$112.8 billion (Up by 11.7%)
- Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: -$33.3 billion (Up by 18.3%)
- Ores, slag, ash: -$24.2 billion (Up by 7.7%)
- Fruits, nuts: -$23.1 billion (Up by 22.1%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): -$22 billion (Up by 21.6%)
- Fish: -$20.7 billion (Up by 12.1%)
- Coffee, tea, spices: -$17.6 billion (Up by 39.8%)
- Iron, steel: -$13 billion (Up by 45.2%)
- Toys, games: -$11.4 billion (Up by 25.6%)
Historically, the EU has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the mineral fuels category historically for crude oil and, to a lesser extent, petroleum gases and coal.
EU Top 100 Most Valuable Exported Products
The following searchable database displays 100 of the most in-demand goods shipped from European Union members during 2025. Shown beside each product label is its total export value then the percentage increase or decrease since 2024.
| Rank | EU Export Product | Value (US$) | 2024-5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cars | $455,645,486,000 | +4.7% |
| 2 | Medication mixes in dosage | $366,765,671,000 | +20.3% |
| 3 | Blood fractions (including antisera) | $223,936,013,000 | +2.2% |
| 4 | Processed petroleum oils | $209,214,951,000 | -7.1% |
| 5 | Automobile parts/accessories | $198,386,691,000 | +2.3% |
| 6 | Computers, optical readers | $100,126,784,000 | +23.5% |
| 7 | Phone devices including smartphones | $97,356,580,000 | +5% |
| 8 | Electro-medical equip (e.g. xrays) | $79,718,641,000 | +10.4% |
| 9 | Aircraft, spacecraft | $75,486,193,000 | +5.1% |
| 10 | Turbo-jets | $68,890,585,000 | +26.1% |
| 11 | Hormones, miscellaneous steroids | $68,445,044,000 | +176% |
| 12 | Trucks | $58,606,082,000 | +0.9% |
| 13 | Insulated wire/cable | $56,205,567,000 | +10.5% |
| 14 | Integrated circuits/microassemblies | $51,428,484,000 | +7.6% |
| 15 | Electrical converters/power units | $50,869,538,000 | +8.1% |
| 16 | Gold (unwrought) | $50,796,468,000 | +54.4% |
| 17 | Lower-voltage switches, fuses | $49,681,730,000 | +12.5% |
| 18 | Taps, valves, similar appliances | $47,952,672,000 | +9.3% |
| 19 | Electrical/optical circuit boards, panels | $46,788,241,000 | +13.8% |
| 20 | Miscellaneous machinery | $46,242,523,000 | +3.3% |
| 21 | Miscellaneous furniture | $44,450,037,000 | +6.8% |
| 22 | Centrifuges, filters and purifiers | $44,042,178,000 | +6.8% |
| 23 | Orthopedic appliances | $43,901,398,000 | +9.4% |
| 24 | Electrical energy | $41,911,065,000 | +10.6% |
| 25 | Tractors | $41,266,305,000 | +5.2% |
| 26 | Miscellaneous plastic items | $40,991,486,000 | +8.6% |
| 27 | Cheese, curd | $40,124,559,000 | +14.2% |
| 28 | Machinery for making semi-conductors | $38,974,081,000 | +14.2% |
| 29 | Aircraft or spacecraft parts | $37,608,676,000 | +24.5% |
| 30 | Rubber tires (new) | $37,373,870,000 | +5.2% |
| 31 | Bread, biscuits, cakes, pastries | $37,124,248,000 | +13% |
| 32 | Electric storage batteries | $37,116,519,000 | -5% |
| 33 | Chocolate, other cocoa preparations | $36,296,904,000 | +24.4% |
| 34 | Beauty/makeup/skin care preparations | $35,914,220,000 | +10% |
| 35 | Air or vacuum pumps | $35,759,064,000 | +6.9% |
| 36 | Liquid pumps and elevators | $35,473,855,000 | +7.8% |
| 37 | Cases, handbags, wallets | $34,867,451,000 | +3.8% |
| 38 | Transmission shafts, gears, clutches | $33,382,076,000 | +6.9% |
| 39 | Petroleum gases | $33,305,478,000 | +10.4% |
| 40 | Piston engine parts | $32,841,794,000 | +5.2% |
| 41 | Heterocyclics, nucleic acids | $32,822,865,000 | -4.4% |
| 42 | Miscellaneous iron and steel structures | $32,805,680,000 | +11.6% |
| 43 | Seats (excluding barber/dentist chairs) | $31,817,610,000 | +5.2% |
| 44 | Other food preparations | $31,651,588,000 | +15.5% |
| 45 | Footwear (leather) | $31,543,978,000 | +2.4% |
| 46 | Miscellaneous animal feed preparations | $30,658,567,000 | +10.9% |
| 47 | Electric motors, generators | $30,146,174,000 | +11% |
| 48 | Jewelry | $29,738,690,000 | +1.8% |
| 49 | Wine | $29,468,015,000 | +2.3% |
| 50 | Miscellaneous iron or steel items | $28,654,321,000 | +6.2% |
| 51 | Dishwashing, clean/dry/fill machines | $27,314,680,000 | +9.7% |
| 52 | Plastic packing goods, lids, caps | $27,289,829,000 | +6.9% |
| 53 | Machinery parts | $27,252,671,000 | +5.8% |
| 54 | Printing machinery | $25,315,404,000 | +4.3% |
| 55 | Electric water heaters, hair dryers | $24,852,225,000 | +13.1% |
| 56 | Women's clothing (not knit or crochet) | $24,761,494,000 | +7.2% |
| 57 | Plastic plates, sheets, film, tape, strips | $24,595,393,000 | +4.6% |
| 58 | Other diagnostic/lab reagents | $24,566,639,000 | +1.7% |
| 59 | Temperature-change machines | $24,169,112,000 | +6% |
| 60 | Perfumes, toilet waters | $23,931,612,000 | +10.4% |
| 61 | Aircraft or spacecraft parts | $23,740,886,000 | +0.4% |
| 62 | Physical/chemical analysis tools | $23,074,449,000 | +7.6% |
| 63 | Other organic cleaning preparations | $22,696,799,000 | +7.1% |
| 64 | Other measuring/testing machines | $22,450,334,000 | +10.9% |
| 65 | Coal tar oils (high temperature distillation) | $22,127,702,000 | -11.4% |
| 66 | Refrigerators, freezers | $22,095,350,000 | +12.1% |
| 67 | Swine meat | $21,959,529,000 | +1.1% |
| 68 | Scents used for beverage or industrial manufacturing | $21,692,315,000 | +1.8% |
| 69 | Chemical industry products/residuals | $21,554,715,000 | +4.2% |
| 70 | Ethylene polymers | $21,447,379,000 | -1.3% |
| 71 | Cruise/cargo ships, barges | $21,432,877,000 | +41.7% |
| 72 | Engines (diesel) | $21,350,962,000 | +5.3% |
| 73 | Piston engines | $21,182,946,000 | +0.7% |
| 74 | Jerseys, pullovers (knit or crochet) | $21,039,527,000 | +8.5% |
| 75 | Biodiesel | $20,837,347,000 | +6.3% |
| 76 | Polyacetal/ether/carbonates | $20,613,547,000 | +0.2% |
| 77 | Lifting/loading machinery | $19,620,961,000 | +1.7% |
| 78 | Solar power diodes/semi-conductors | $19,259,171,000 | +5.1% |
| 79 | Electric circuit parts, fuses, switches | $19,179,270,000 | +8.3% |
| 80 | Fresh or chilled beef | $19,029,037,000 | +30% |
| 81 | Footwear (textile) | $18,981,770,000 | +16.8% |
| 82 | Flat-rolled iron or non-alloy steel products (plated/coated) | $18,828,240,000 | +2.5% |
| 83 | Sawn wood | $18,677,625,000 | +14.6% |
| 84 | Iron and steel screws, bolts, nuts, washers | $18,667,820,000 | +6.1% |
| 85 | Coffee | $18,492,450,000 | +41.4% |
| 86 | Crude oil | $18,300,127,000 | -16.4% |
| 87 | Flour/meal/starch/malt extract food preparations | $18,277,750,000 | +11.9% |
| 88 | Non-alcoholic drinks (not water/juice/milk) | $18,265,237,000 | +10.7% |
| 89 | Aluminum plates, sheets, strips | $18,190,979,000 | +10% |
| 90 | Poultry meat | $18,082,479,000 | +22.4% |
| 91 | Iron or steel scrap | $18,011,466,000 | -5.8% |
| 92 | Medication mixes not in dosage | $18,005,399,000 | +34.3% |
| 93 | Packaged insecticides/fungicides/herbicides | $17,763,917,000 | +11% |
| 94 | Flat-rolled other alloy steel products | $17,540,508,000 | +4.5% |
| 95 | Trailers | $17,253,439,000 | +7.2% |
| 96 | T-shirts, vests (knit or crochet) | $16,863,010,000 | +8.4% |
| 97 | Models, puzzles, miscellaneous toys | $16,694,121,000 | +14.2% |
| 98 | Alcohol (including spirits, liqueurs) | $16,646,863,000 | +2.4% |
| 99 | Plastic tubes, pipes, fittings | $16,364,369,000 | +4.9% |
| 100 | Men's suits, trousers (not knit or crochet) | $16,285,063,000 | +11.7% |
These 100 exported goods were worth a subtotal of $4.474 trillion or three-fifths (60.1%) by value for all products exported from the EU during 2025.
Expanding the scope to the 100 most valuable exported products, the fastest-growing exports from the EU are hormones and miscellaneous steroids (up 176% from 2024), unwrought gold (up 54.4%), cruise or cargo ships (up 41.7%), coffee (up 41.4%) then medication mixes not in dosage (up 34.3%).
Other Key Facts About the EU and its Exports
From a continental perspective, almost three-quarters (72.5%) of EU exports by value were delivered to other European countries.
Fellow EU member countries bought 60.5% of the total value for EU exported goods in 2025 from fellow EU members.
The EU shipped another 12.4% worth of products to buyers in Asia plus another 9.8% to North America.
Smaller percentages went to Africa (2.5%), Latin America (2.1%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, and Oceania (0.7%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
Given the European Union’s population of 451 million people, its total US$7.451 trillion in 2025 exports translates to roughly $16,550 in international trade product sales for every EU resident. That per capita average surpasses the $15,450 per person one year earlier.
The EU’s average unemployment rate was 6% at March 2026, up from 5.9% one year prior per Trading Economics.
Headquarters for the European Union are located in Belgium’s capital city, Brussels.
Please note that metrics for the United Kingdom are reported in our separate article specific to UK exports.
Major EU Export Companies
Ranking among the top 100 listed under Forbes Global 2000 are about 20 corporations with headquarters located in the EU.
Below are selected examples of top EU companies engaged in exports-related activities.
- Anheuser-Busch InBev (beverages)
- BASF (diversified chemicals)
- BMW Group (automobiles)
- Daimler (automobiles)
- Enel (electricity, gas)
- Royal Dutch Shell (oil, gas)
- Siemens (industrial/technology conglomerate)
- Total (oil, gas)
- Volkswagen Group (automobiles)
See also Top EU Export Countries, Top EU Import Countries, Germany’s Top 10 Exports, France’s Top 10 Exports and Italy’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Europe: European Union. Accessed on May 11, 2025
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on May 11, 2025
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 26, 2026
Wikipedia, Demographics of the European Union. Accessed on May 26, 2026
Wikipedia, European Union. Accessed on May 26, 2026
Wikipedia, List of Companies of the European Union. Accessed on May 26, 2026
Wikipedia, List of European countries by population. Accessed on May 26, 2026
Wikipedia, Member State of the European Union. Accessed on May 26, 2026