The enduring positive trade balance with the US makes a ton of sense, given that the Euro is low, and the hugely negative balance with Russia also makes a lot of sense, given that they still are buying a lot of oil and gas at hugely inflated prices, while being barred from selling most things to the Russians in return. But what's with the China deficit blowing up? Is it that the shitty Chinese economy and severe lockdowns have prevented them from buying BMWs? I always thought back in 2010 that the Germans were using the Greek debt crisis to tank the Euro surreptitiously, because years of strong exports had caused the Euro to increase to almost $1.50 IIRC in the lead up to the Great Recession.
Luxury goods aren't a huge contributor to Europe/China trade. It's mostly heavy equipment and durable goods, all of which needed to travel by sea. China has also been a shittier and shittier place to do business so heavy equipment and durable goods have faced a hell of a trade wind. An aside? The Chinese miracle is a fucking sham. I have, behind me, a set of six Yaskawa Sigma 7 servopaks. Retail on them is about $2800. They drive Yaskawa Sigma 7 servo motors, which retail for around $2200 ea. I bought my servo packs on eBay for $400 ea and the motors for $200. The difference between these two is one of them has had the fake labels removed. These fake labels were explained to me by the seller - they are necessary to get through Chinese customs. The vendor declared these as "prototype drivers" and listed their value as $20 ea. Now - a Chinese company paid $2800 ea for these. They got a loan to do it. And then their company "failed" and they "liquidated" their stock. I have roughly $40k worth of brand-new shit purchased this way for around $4k. From an accounting standpoint? This looks like a massive Chinese investment in technology and manufacturing. From a criminal standpoint? This looks like fraud. And if dumbass me with an eBay account can do this shit, it's gotta look damn impressive across the world's largest GDP. eBay shit didn't suffer in the slightest through the pandemic. You can ship that shit DHL. Heavy equipment? LOL the paperwork alone is something else, and it's all American because we own the seas. I think the Chinese trade balances are due to the gild coming off the lily.
