September 1, 2023
EU trade with Russia has been strongly affected by import and export restrictions imposed by the EU following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Both exports and imports have dropped considerably below the level prior to the invasion. Seasonally adjusted values show that Russia’s share in extra-EU imports fell from 9.6 % in February 2022 to 1.7 % in June 2023, while the share of extra-EU exports fell from 3.8 % to 1.4% in the same period.
In March 2022, the month following the invasion, the EU experienced a peak trade deficit with Russia caused by high prices of energy products. The deficit amounted to EUR 18.5 billion. This deficit was brought down to EUR 0.4 billion by June 2023, remaining under one billion four months in a row in 2023 (EUR 0.1 in March, EUR 0.8 in April and EUR 0.4 in May). The change was heavily influenced by the EUR 18.6 billion drop in the monthly value of imports from Russia between March 2022 (EUR 21.9 billion) and June 2023 (EUR 3.3 billion). At the same time, the value of exports decreased from EUR3.4 billion in March 2022 to EUR 2.9 billion in June 2023.
EU-Russia trade deficit in energy sees a substantial 
Looking at the quarterly data, in the second quarter of 2023, the EU-Russia trade balance for goods registered a deficit of EUR1.6 billion, indicating a great improvement from the EUR 45.0 billion deficit observed in the second quarter of 2022. This substantial deficit decrease can be largely attributed to the decline in energy imports from Russia. The trade deficit in energy has been reduced from EUR 40.4 billion in the second quarter of 2022 to EUR 5.7 billion in the second quarter of 2023.
Russia EU 3