Dutch exports to US rise 10.5% in H1 2025, driven by re-exports

Even though trade between the Netherlands and the US faced challenges due to the import tariffs that have been announced and other factors, the trade relationship between the two countries grew in the first half of 2025. The increase in exports to the US was driven mainly by goods re-exports, which were up by 24.6 per cent, compared to domestic exports (goods made in the Netherlands), which were up by 4.5 per cent, CBS said in a press release.

The increase in the value of exports to the US was mainly due to exports in the months of February, March and April. Goods imports from the US were down by 9 per cent in May but went up again by 11 per cent in June. This was mainly because more goods in the categories of machinery and transport equipment and chemical products were imported that month.

For the European Union (EU), the value of trade with the US increased in both directions in the H1 2025, although the overall trend was downward. This is consistent with the trend in the United States’ trade in goods with the rest of the world: the US imported much more in Q1 2025 than it did in Q1 2024, possibly because companies wanted to beat the announced import tariffs. Trade values in Q2 2025, by contrast, were broadly in line with Q2 2024.

The EU has a trade surplus with the US. That means that EU countries, collectively, export more goods (by value) to the US than they import from the US. However, as a share of total trade, that surplus was at its smallest for the past eighteen months due to the fall in export value in June. The Netherlands, on the other hand, has a trade deficit with the US.

The increase in Dutch exports to the US over the past six months was mainly because there were more goods re-exports. Exports in the category of machinery and transport equipment were also up, as were chemicals, manufactured goods and food products.

At the same time, the import value of mineral fuels from the US also declined compared to the previous year, mainly due to less crude oil being imported. More chemical products, raw materials and food products were imported from the US, added the release.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (SG)