China Replaces the United States as Germany’s Top Economic Trading Partner

Not too long ago, I heard political commentator Bill Maher give President Trump credit for a tariff policy which, apparently, he felt worked well.

Strange, because it feels to me that this policy has been an unpopular failure. After all, this seemed to directly get in the way of Trump's promise of lowering the price of gas and groceries very quickly once he got back into power. When you wage an economic war, it will be bound to have a price. But that price is greatly magnified when you wage war against the entire rest of the world simultaneously. 

Also, tourism to the United States from other countries went way, way down. Canadians in particular often come south of the border, traditionally, to enjoy vacations. But many of them opted out, and that cost a lot of tourism dollars. Europeans and Asians also saw seriously diminished numbers, and it did not help that many of those same countries have announced travel advisories for their citizens traveling in the United States, particularly as images of masked ICE against circulates and goes viral around the world on various social media platforms.

That's not all. A whole bunch of Nebraska farmers seem to be blaming Trump for their recent struggles. Then again, Trump hardly hid his intention to impose tariffs, and he won Nebraska comfortably. So that kind of falls on them. Sorry, but my sympathy is limited when it comes to people who voted for a known scam artist, and then act horrified that they are being hurt by that same scam artist whom they helped to impose on the rest of the country.

Countries have been coming to arrange trade relations specifically to go around the United States. That includes, but is not limited to, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and some Latin American countries. 

Still, it has hurt American products which were supposed to sell overseas. Canada has gotten some contracts with the European Union for food products which American farmers formerly had benefited from. 

Now here is another sign that the tariff policies are coming at a cost: the United States has fallen behind China as Germany's top trading partner.

Are we great yet?

US falls behind China as Germany’s top trading partner: Reuters by Ashleigh Fields - 10/22/25:

https://thehill.com/policy/international/5568015-us-germany-china-trade-tariffs/