That means timing is everything.

Germany’s trade surplus with US reaches new record – Germany’s trade surplus with the United States reached a record level, data from the statistics office showed, as countries wait to learn how US President Donald Trump will impose tariffs on imported goods.

Germany’s trade surplus with the U.S. expanded to €70 billion (HK$563.1 billion) in 2024, well above the previous record of €63.3 billion reported for the full year 2023.

“It would be hard to imagine worse timing,” said Holger Goerg, from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.

Trump substantially raised tariffs on steel and aluminum imports on Monday to a flat 25 percent “without exceptions or exemptions.”