Leading Trade Partners by Country 2025

The number of trade partners a country has is a leading indicator of its economic impact, especially when considering the number of partners for which a country is the largest partner. The world’s economy is dominated by three major trading hubs, including those centered on China, the US and Germany. Together, these three hubs account for the great majority of the world’s trading partnerships.

China

China is the largest direct trading partner for at least 62 countries, making it the world’s most important trading partner. In addition, it has the world’s second-largest economy, as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP). China has achieved this position by developing a network of trading partnerships, both in industrialized and developing economies. China’s rapid economic growth during the past two decades has allowed it to develop many such partnerships throughout the world. In addition, China’s largest trading partners have changed due to new national and international economic policies enacted during this period.

United States

The US is the largest trading partner for about 31 countries, forming the center of the world’s second-largest trading hub. The US economy bounced back quickly from the economic downturn caused by the 2020 pandemic, growing 5.7 percent in 2021. This growth rate was the country’s highest since 1984, supply chain disruptions from the pandemic also had an impact on US trade with other countries.

For example, the US trade deficit increased from $922 trillion in 2020 to a record $1.1 trillion in 2021. The trade deficit remained at that level in 2022, when US imports reached a new high of $2.9 trillion.

Germany

Germany is the largest trade partner of 26 countries and the third-largest exporter at about $1.7 trillion in 2022. This value is an increase of about six percent from 2018, when it exported $1.6 trillion in goods. The annual increase of Germany’s exports averaged 1.5 percent during this period

About two-thirds of Germany’s exports went to European countries, with another 18 percent going to Asian countries. The North American countries of the US, Canada and Mexico accounted for an additional 12 percent of Germany’s exports, totaling about 96 percent of Germany’s total exports.

The Russo-Ukraine war that began in 2022 has profoundly affected Germany’s trade with those two countries. Russia accounted for 1.9 percent of Germany’s exports in 2021, which shrank to 1.1 percent in 2022. In comparison, Ukraine only bought 0.3 percent of Germany’s exports in 2022.