Trade grows as Destatis data show a divided factory picture
China and Germany reported strong trade growth while German industries moved in different directions, and the United States set new tariff and price floors for polysilicon imports.
Economics & Markets··Midday
China's July trade kept a rapid pace
Customs data released on Friday put China's July exports at 397.85 billion dollars and imports at 285.35 billion dollars. Exports rose 23.9 per cent from a year earlier and imports increased 27.5 per cent. Both rates exceeded forecasts of 22.88 per cent and 26.67 per cent in a poll of economists by the financial data provider Wind. The pace nevertheless eased from June, when export growth reached 27 per cent, its fastest rate since October 2021, and import growth reached 36 per cent. The trade surplus narrowed from 125.62 billion dollars in June to 112.5 billion dollars in July. During the same period, the import growth rate exceeded the export rate and both sides of trade expanded. Shipments of computers and related parts rose 45.2 per cent year on year over the first seven months, identifying an important product group within the export total. These are current-dollar trade values and annual rates, rather than a price-adjusted production measure of changes in the physical volume of goods shipped. July combines rapid external-trade growth with slower rates than June and a smaller monthly surplus.[1]
German trade and output offer different measures
Destatis said calendar- and seasonally adjusted German exports rose 0.9 per cent from May to 139.3 billion euros, while imports increased 4.4 per cent to 123.9 billion euros, leaving a surplus of 15.4 billion euros. From a year earlier, exports were up 6.6 per cent and imports 8.4 per cent. Exports to the United States fell to 12.1 billion euros, down 14.2 per cent monthly and 1.2 per cent annually, while exports to China declined 12.3 per cent year on year to 6.2 billion euros. Exports to EU members rose to 79.3 billion euros, up 1.3 per cent monthly and 7.5 per cent annually. A provisional Destatis release showed price-, seasonally and calendar-adjusted industrial production rising 0.2 per cent from May. Automotive output grew 3.6 per cent and other transport equipment 8.4 per cent, while machinery and equipment fell 3.9 per cent, intermediate goods 0.9 per cent and energy-intensive branches 1.8 per cent. May was revised to a 0.7 per cent gain; April through June output was 0.7 per cent above the previous three months and 0.1 per cent below June 2025. The euro trade totals measure monetary value, while the real output index tracks factory production after removing price effects.[2], [3]
A new price threshold is coming for polysilicon imports
A proclamation signed in the United States on August 6, 2026 changes import terms for polysilicon and its derivatives. According to the White House, a 15 per cent tariff will apply to polysilicon ingots and derivatives from December 4, 2026. Minimum import prices are 21 dollars per kilogram for polysilicon, 100 dollars per kilogram for ingots and wafers, 0.22 dollars per watt for solar cells and 0.38 dollars per watt for solar modules. The White House grounds the Section 232 measure in the Commerce Secretary's finding that these imports threaten to impair national security. The sources cover different countries, periods and measures; each finding stands within its own frame. Together, the releases show China's current-dollar external trade growing rapidly, Germany's euro-denominated trade increasing while price-adjusted factory output split across industries, and the United States resetting future import terms for an industrial input through a tariff and price floors. Export value, real production and an import rule illuminate separate supply layers within their own reference periods and measurement bases.[1], [2], [3], [4]
