Photo: Christoph Soeder/dpa (Photo by Christoph Soeder/picture alliance via Getty Images)After years of China being Germany's main trading partner, the U.S. looks like it's quietly taking that top spot as the year progresses.
Several factors played a role in the change, Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro research at ING Research, told CNBC.
[…] At the same time, decoupling from China, weaker domestic demand in China and China being able to produce goods it previously imported from Germany (mainly cars) reduced German exports to China," he said.
China has been Germany's biggest trading partner for years, but the gap between China and the U.S. narrowed in recent years.
The U.S. has also long been a bigger market for German exports than China, Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank, told CNBC.
Persons:
Habeck, Christoph Soeder, it's, Carsten Brzeski, Holger Schmieding, China's, Schmieding
Organizations:
German, Getty, U.S, CNBC, Reuters, ING Research, Berenberg Bank
Locations:
Germany, China, U.S