The European Union recorded a goods trade surplus of €186.6 billion with the United Kingdom in 2025, exporting goods worth €345.3 billion while importing €158.7 billion,
according to the latest trade data.
Over the past decade, the UK's role in EU trade has gradually diminished. In 2015, the United Kingdom accounted for 16.9% of all EU exports and 11.2% of imports. By 2020, those shares had fallen to 14.4% and 9.9%, respectively, reflecting a steady decline in the UK's importance as a trading partner for the bloc.
However, trade patterns have largely stabilised since the UK exited the EU single market in 2021. The UK's share of total EU exports has remained broadly unchanged, standing at 13.0% in 2021 and edging up slightly to 13.1% in 2025. On the import side, the UK's contribution to EU imports continued to decline modestly, falling from 7.0% to 6.3% over the same period.
Vehicles and machinery lead trade
Vehicles remained the EU's largest export category to the United Kingdom in 2025. Exports of vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling stock reached €55.8 billion, representing 16.2% of all goods shipped to the UK.
Machinery, mechanical appliances and related parts ranked second, with exports worth €44.9 billion (13.0%). Other major export categories included electrical machinery and audio-visual equipment (€27.2 billion; 7.9%), pharmaceutical products (€20.4 billion; 5.9%), and mineral fuels and oils (€14.5 billion; 4.2%).
Together, these five product groups accounted for 47.1% of total EU exports to the United Kingdom.
On the import side, machinery and mechanical appliances were the largest category purchased from the UK, valued at €22.6 billion and representing 14.3% of all imports. Mineral fuels and oils followed closely at €22.0 billion (13.9%).
The EU also imported significant volumes of vehicles (€15.1 billion; 9.5%), pharmaceutical products (€9.0 billion; 5.6%), and electrical machinery and audio-visual equipment (€8.3 billion; 5.2%). Collectively, the five leading product categories made up 48.5% of all goods imported from the United Kingdom in 2025.
Despite the long-term decline in the UK's share of EU trade, the latest figures indicate that post-Brexit trade relations have entered a period of relative stability, with strong demand for industrial goods, vehicles and pharmaceuticals continuing to underpin commercial ties between the two economies. Photo by © European Union, 2026, Wikimedia commons.