Although year-over-year comparisons remain difficult—since companies brought forward their exports in the first quarter of last year in anticipation of rising import tariffs—we are currently seeing only a modest recovery in Belgian exports to the U.S. (+10.2% in the second quarter compared to the same period last year), following the sharp decline in the second quarter of 2025. At that time, the total value of Belgian exports to the U.S. fell to €7.27 billion, a 12.1% decline compared to the second quarter of 2024. That was the lowest nominal export value since the fourth quarter of 2021. In the second quarter of 2026, total Belgian exports to the U.S. again showed some signs of recovery from recent lows, with an export value of €8.28 billion. Exports of pharmaceutical products rose by 9.1% year-over-year, but that was not enough to fully offset the 18.8% decline in the second quarter of 2025. We are seeing similar trends in other key export sectors as well. The recent recovery in Belgian exports to the U.S. should therefore be interpreted with due caution.
Although the layoffs in the healthcare sector cannot be attributed solely to Trump’s import tariffs, broader factors such as global restructuring, cost pressures, and shifting investment priorities within the pharmaceutical sector also play a significant role. For the Belgian economy, this serves as yet another warning sign of the shifting dynamics within one of its most important industrial sectors.
