In 2009, EU27 external trade in services slowed down compared with 2007 and 2008. EU27 exports of services to the rest of the word fell by 10%, from 524 billion euro in 2008 to 473 bn in 2009, and EU27 imports by 8%, from 446 bn to 409 bn. As a result, EU27 trade in services recorded a reduced surplus of 63 bn in 2009, compared with surpluses of 78 bn in 2008 and 87 bn in 2007.

The decreased surplus in 2009 was mainly due to smaller surpluses in financial services (+24 bn euro in 2009 compared with +31 bn in 2008), "other business services", which includes miscellaneous business, professional & technical services (+33 bn compared with +37 bn) and transportation (+19 bn compared with +23 bn).

In 2009, the EU27 recorded relatively stable surpluses in trade in services with all its main partners, except for the USA, where there was a deficit of 7 bn euro in 2009, compared with a surplus of 2 bn in 2008. Among the other main partners, the highest surpluses were observed with the EFTA countries (23 bn), Russia (7 bn), China and Japan (both 5 bn).

These data, issued by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, are subject to revision.