Olan McEvoy
Research expert covering the European Union for society, economy, and politics.
Get in touch with us nowEU external imports by currency 2010-2022
The U.S. dollar is the most commonly used currency by the member states of the European Union when importing goods from outside the EU, reflecting the currency's status as the world's preeminent medium of exchange. During the decade beginning in 2010, the EU invoiced more than half of its imports in dollars, peaking in 2012 at 58 percent, before falling to less than half in 2020. The amount of imports invoiced in Euro fell at the beginning of the decade to around a third, before recovering to over 38 percent in 2020.
This perhaps reflects a growing diversification of international trade in the late 2010s, which has seen currencies such as the Euro and the Chinese Renminbi challenge the U.S. dollar in some regions. Another possibility could also be that as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, trade was conducted more regionally in 2020, with EU trade partners closer to Europe being more likely to use currencies other than U.S. dollars. The share of imports invoiced in the currencies of EU member states who do not use the Euro fell dramatically in 2020, as the United Kingdom left the EU, meaning that imports invoiced in British Pound Sterling were counted among the "other currency" share.
This perhaps reflects a growing diversification of international trade in the late 2010s, which has seen currencies such as the Euro and the Chinese Renminbi challenge the U.S. dollar in some regions. Another possibility could also be that as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, trade was conducted more regionally in 2020, with EU trade partners closer to Europe being more likely to use currencies other than U.S. dollars. The share of imports invoiced in the currencies of EU member states who do not use the Euro fell dramatically in 2020, as the United Kingdom left the EU, meaning that imports invoiced in British Pound Sterling were counted among the "other currency" share.
