
EU trade in goods turned into a deficit of 21.8 billion euros in the second quarter: the widening energy gap was the main cause
Data released by Eurostat on 25 August show that EU imports of goods to non-EU countries amounted to Euro701.8 billion and exports to Euro68 billion in the second quarter of 2026, creating a trade deficit of Euro21.8 billion. This was the first quarterly deficit since the second quarter of 2023; the previous round of deficits occurred mainly in the period between late 2021 and mid-2023 when energy costs surged。














