US Surpasses China As Germany’s Top Trade Partner Amid Shifting Economic Tides

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

February 20, 2025

For the first time since 2015, the United States has overtaken China as Germany’s largest trading partner, reflecting shifting global economic dynamics. Official data shows that declining exports to China and evolving trade patterns have reshaped Germany’s commercial landscape.

Key Trade Figures

Trade between Germany and the US grew by 0.1% year-on-year, reaching €252.8 billion in 2024, according to Germany’s Federal Statistical Office.
Meanwhile, China’s trade volume with Germany fell by 3.1% to €246.3 billion, ending its eight-year reign as Germany’s top partner.
The Netherlands, traditionally a strong trading partner, ranked third with €205.7 billion in trade, down 4.2% from the previous year.
Germany’s trade surplus with the US expanded significantly, rising to €70 billion in 2024 from €63.3 billion in 2023. This was driven by a 2.2% increase in exports to €161.4 billion, while imports from the US declined 3.4% to €91.4 billion.
In contrast, Germany’s trade deficit with China widened, as imports from China dropped 0.3% to €156.3 billion, while German exports to China saw a steeper 7.6% decline, reaching €90 billion.

Germany’s Economic Challenges

Germany, Europe’s largest economy, has struggled to sustain growth over the past five years. Once a dominant force in global trade, particularly in industrial machinery and automotive exports, the country now faces mounting competition from Chinese manufacturers. A sluggish domestic economy and geopolitical trade shifts have further compounded these challenges.

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Looking Ahead

As Germany prepares for a new government following the upcoming elections, reviving economic growth will be a top priority. Trade relations with both China and the United States will remain critical, especially as Germany navigates the policies of the next US administration. The decisions made in the coming months could shape the country’s trade strategy for years to come.

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Copyright Law Struggles To Keep Up With AI Training

by News Editor

August 24, 2026

Courts Are Still Applying Old Copyright Rules To AI

AI companies train models on enormous amounts of published material, including books, articles and academic research. Whether using that content without authors’ permission violates copyright law remains unresolved.

Much of the debate centres on fair use, which allows copyrighted material to be used without permission in certain circumstances. Courts consider factors such as the purpose of the use, how much material was involved and its impact on the original market.

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Anthropic Case Sets An Important Precedent

A major case involving Anthropic and a group of authors provided one of the clearest rulings so far. Judge William Alsup found that using copyrighted books to train AI models was lawful, comparing the process to people reading and studying literature before creating something new.

Anthropic was nevertheless ordered to pay $1.5 billion in a settlement. The penalty concerned books the company had obtained from illegal online libraries rather than the AI training itself.

For AI companies, that distinction could prove significant because it separates studying copyrighted material from directly copying it.

Competition Could Be The Key Issue

A case involving Thomson Reuters and Ross Intelligence offers a different perspective. A court ruled that Ross could not claim fair use after using Reuters’ copyrighted material to develop a competing AI-powered legal research platform.

The decision suggests courts may be less willing to consider AI training fair use when copyrighted content is used to build a product that directly competes with the original.

For authors, an unresolved question is whether AI-generated content should be considered competition for the works used to train these models.

The Law Has Yet To Catch Up

US copyright law predates generative AI by decades, leaving courts to apply old principles to new technology. Questions also remain over copyright protection for AI-generated works. In Thaler v. Perlmutter, a court ruled that material created entirely by AI cannot receive copyright protection.

Major AI companies remain involved in copyright litigation, and different courts could reach different conclusions. For now, there is no universal rule: the legality of AI training will depend on the circumstances of each case and how courts ultimately interpret copyright and fair use.

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