The European Union’s trade surplus with the the U.S. jumped 17 percent last year to the highest on record, potentially putting at risk ongoing negotiations just as President Donald Trump is gearing up to decide whether to hit the 28-nation bloc with a new set of tariffs.
The EU reported a 139.7 billion-euro ($157.6 billion) surplus in goods trade with the U.S. in 2018, up from 119.6 billion euros in the prior year, according to data from Eurostat released on Friday. Exports to the U.S. from the EU rose 8 percent, while EU imports from the U.S. grew 3.9 percent.
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