BRUSSELS, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- The EU28 recorded a 6.1-billion surplus (6.7-billion U.S. dollars) in trade in goods with the rest of the world in June, decreasing by 12.8 percent from 7 billion euros (7.8 billion dollars) of June 2018, said Eurostat, statistical body of the European Union (EU) Friday.
The first estimate for extra-EU28 exports of goods in June 2019 was 164.5 billion euros (182.7 billion dollars), down by 4.4 percent compared with June 2018. Imports from the rest of the world stood at 158.3 billion euros (175.8 billion dollars), down by 4.2 percent compared with June 2018.
Intra-EU28 trade fell to 288.8 billion euros (320.8 billion dollars) in June 2019, down by 6.4 percent year on year.
The decrease is widely believed to be resulting from the protecting trade policy of the current U.S. administration. In an article published on its website titled "The Winners and Losers of the U.S.-China Trade War", the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think tank, put the EU on a team of losers who would suffer from the ongoing U.S.-China trade frictions.
There are long-term consequences for the EU economy if current trends hold. The EU economy relies heavily on trade, and the recent slowdown in trade amid the U.S.-China disputes has raised concerns in Europe about future growth. Exports from the EU are worth 40 percent of its GDP, and that number has increased in recent years.
The United States has now become a disrupter of the liberal international order, including the rules-based global trade system, which the United States itself helped create after World War II, said Nicola Casarini, a senior fellow at the Istituto Affari Internazionali.
