this post was submitted on 18 Apr 2026
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[โ€“] Multiplexer@discuss.tchncs.de 45 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

This is one of the instances where the second largest trade partner might be more interesting.

[โ€“] Goldholz@lemmy.blahaj.zone 40 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Belarus and the british and russia, trading with their puppet masters

[โ€“] laria11@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 weeks ago

If only you saw further away...

[โ€“] RmDebArc_5@piefed.zip 29 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

According to the statistisches Bundesamt China and the USA are the largest trade partners of Germany, and have been for a while. I'm doubting that the other countries are more accurately displayed

[โ€“] marius@feddit.org 11 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Maybe it shows the netherlands as Germany's biggest trade partner, because the Chinese and American stuff comes through Dutch ports

[โ€“] wewbull@feddit.uk 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

That would be bad if true.

Probably why non EU countries are all trading the US, UK, and China.

At any rate it ignores that trade the EU does with the US, UK, and China is about 10 times the size of the trade deals measured in this map of IMF statistics. It either breaks it down as 'NL=EU' or it just omits the EU trade entirely while keeping them comparing with non-EU countries.

[โ€“] Babalugats@feddit.uk 22 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Ireland should actively try to trade within the EU more. Irelands biggest exports go to the US. 2nd is the Netherlands (mostly pharma) and then UK. Imports are US and UK. Neither are in the EU.

[โ€“] Legwarmer1411@lemmy.zip 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Are services counted? Would the US tech headquarters installed make the game difficult?

[โ€“] Babalugats@feddit.uk 4 points 2 weeks ago

Not sure what's counted, but the big tech hq being there definitely makes it harder for their government to promote digital sovereignity.

I got the figures from here: https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-ti/irelandstradeingoods2024/toptradingpartners2024/

[โ€“] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 19 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Finland: "Sweden, you're my best friend"

Sweden: "Thanks"

[โ€“] RoastedSmurf@fedinsfw.app 17 points 2 weeks ago

Germany should be ashamed, lying in bed with most of Europe! What a slut country! /s

[โ€“] TabbsTheBat@pawb.social 16 points 2 weeks ago

The baltics are just a downward line of trade :3

[โ€“] reddig33@lemmy.world 15 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Spain provides the majority of vegetables to the EU.

https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/08/27/which-eu-countries-are-fresh-produce-powerhouses

Stuff like this makes me wonder about the value of charts like this.

[โ€“] RunawayFixer@lemmy.world 13 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

The strangest one to me is Slovenia.

When looking it up, some funny stuff is going on: in 2024 Slovenia exported $22.46b to Switzerland, $21.76b from that is pharmaceutical products. An almost 50x increase in exports in less than 10 years. https://tradingeconomics.com/slovenia/exports/switzerland

Most of that pharmaceutical trade is from "intercompany trade". https://cee.swiss/countries-slovenia/?lang=en

Some Swiss fiscal accountants are having a laugh.

[โ€“] Wizard_Pope@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

There is a reason we were calling ourselves the second Switzerland. Guess this is it

[โ€“] crapwittyname@feddit.uk 13 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

Is this why we brexited, really? So we didn't have to have the German flag on our country in this map? This is the only explanation that makes any sense, 10 years later.

โŒ More sovereignty

โŒ Stronger economy

โŒ Better trade deal

โŒ Lower immigration

โŒ Sunlit uplands

โœ”๏ธ Fuck off, Germany

Unironically probably, the "freedom to choose without EU pressure" or whatever nonsense they pretended justified it lol

[โ€“] Pipster@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 week ago

ThE Eu wIlL Be bEgGiNg tO MaKe tRaDe dEaLs wItH Us

[โ€“] Grandwolf319@sh.itjust.works 8 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

So everybody loves Germany, and Germany loves France.

And then there is UKโ€ฆ

Sad Canada noises

[โ€“] SirHery@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

That's The Netherlands not France?

Rotates head

Oh snap your right

[โ€“] FosterMolasses@leminal.space 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Ikr? Canada's right there. Shameful...

Still nowhere shameful as Brexit in general, but ya know.

I wish we did more exchanging with Canadia, it's a shame.

[โ€“] teslekova@sh.itjust.works 7 points 2 weeks ago

I assume Switzerland is exporting legal tax avoidance to the US?

[โ€“] CJCKit@lemmy.world 7 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I hope (as a Brit) that the UK will amend its ways after the damage we dealt ourselves through Brexit and our โ€œspecial relationshipโ€.

[โ€“] J92@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago

Agreed. This is both embarrassing and unsustainable!

[โ€“] HotDog7@lemmy.world 7 points 2 weeks ago

Economic victory!

[โ€“] vodka@feddit.org 4 points 2 weeks ago

Interesting that the source for this disagrees with the Norwegian statistics bureau of which they got the data from.

If should be the UK for Norway, not Germany. It has traditionally been Germany but post-brexit and the Ukraine war has made UK buy a lot more gas from Norway, overtaking Germany in trade volume very ever so slightly (like 0.1% difference)

[โ€“] Jiral@lemmy.org 3 points 2 weeks ago

Casually ignoring the Single Market, which surely is of no significance when it comes to trade. Seems to be a pattern at Visual Capitalist.

[โ€“] AI_toothbrush@lemmy.zip 3 points 2 weeks ago

Huh i thought iceland would have been sweden cause most products i saw over there that i could easily identify were swedish but i guess the ones that looked icelandic were imported from the netherlands.

[โ€“] an0nym0us_dr0ne@europe.pub 3 points 2 weeks ago

Some would say that Germany achieved the economical win they could get via military back in the days

Thank you for the infographic, I love these

[โ€“] Humana@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

๐Ÿคฃ ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑ -> ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช -> ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท -> ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ -> ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡น