EU high‑tech exports surge as Germany tackles digital sovereignty and auto‑sector protests

The European Union's high‑tech manufacturing sector recorded sales of €414 billion in 2024, up from €273 billion in 2014, an average annual growth of 4.3%. Pharmaceuticals accounted for 29% of the total, followed by electronics and telecommunications (23%) and scientific instruments (about 21%). Imports of high‑tech goods from outside the bloc were dominated by China and the United States, together supplying more than half of the volume. The EU exported 31% of its high‑tech products to the United States and 10% each to China and the United Kingdom, while running a €92 billion trade deficit with China and smaller deficits with Taiwan and Vietnam. A new EU tech‑sovereignty package targets the entire value chain, from chips to cloud services and AI, and may bar non‑European firms from certain public contracts.

In Germany, regional authorities have begun shifting public IT systems away from Microsoft toward open‑source solutions to reduce reliance on foreign technology and improve data security. At the same time, tens of thousands of Mercedes‑Benz workers have staged large‑scale protests over cost‑cutting measures that they fear will jeopardise jobs. Despite substantial investment in electric vehicles, gasoline and diesel cars still dominate German roads, highlighting the country’s ongoing dependence on fossil fuels and the challenges this poses for meeting climate targets.