A group of people standing over a table looking at blueprints.

In 2023, EU countries exported €59.4 billion worth of research and development services to countries outside of the EU and imported €102.6 billion, resulting in a €43.2 billion trade deficit. Both exports and imports increased compared with 2022, by 9.0% and 16.6%, respectively.

The United States was the EU's largest trade partner for research and development services in 2023. Nearly half of all exports went to the United States (28.1 billion; 47.3%). Switzerland was the second largest export partner (€8.6 billion;14.4%), followed by the United Kingdom (€7.7 billion;13.0%). 

Most EU imports also came from the United States (€46.2 billion; 45.0%). The United Kingdom (€9.8 billion; 9.6%) and India (€6.6 billion; 6.4%) came second and third.

Main trade partners for research and development services, 2023, € billion and % of value. Chart. See the link to the full dataset below.

Source dataset: bop_its6_det