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European exports to the U.S. fell last year for the first time in four years as the dollar's decline made goods from Europe more expensive for Americans.

Shipments to the U.S. declined 3 percent to 194 billion euros ($305 billion) in 2007, the European Union's statistics office in Luxembourg said today. That followed an 8 percent increase in 2006 and was the first full-year decline since 2003.

The outlook for European exports has deteriorated further this year, with the euro rising 18 percent against the dollar in the last 12 months and the U.S. economy, the world's largest, teetering close to a recession. The increase has prompted European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet to say a number of times this month that the ECB is concerned about the currency's surge.

“This is a not only a currency question, but also a problem with slowing global growth, especially growth in the U.S.,'' said Dominique Barbet, a senior economist with BNP Paribas SA in Paris. While growth is holding up in oil-producing nations and eastern Europe, “there will be some slowdown here as a result of recession in the U.S.''

The euro reached a record $1.5903 this week, making European goods less competitive overseas. As of 1:45 p.m. in Paris, the currency was up 0.6 percent at $1.5723.

“In the present circumstances, we're concerned by excessive moves on the exchange market,'' Trichet said March 12. U.S. authorities' support for a “strong'' dollar “has been noted by us with extreme attention and interest,'' he said.

`Not Easy'

That concern is shared by many of Europe's largest companies. Siemens AG Chief Executive Officer Peter Loescher said March 4 that the currency's level is “not easy'' for the company. MTU Aero Engines Holding AG, the largest independent provider of jet-engine maintenance, said this month that the dollar's decline will reduce profit this year.

Even in economies where import demand isn't slowing, the euro's strength may make Europe the second choice for overseas buyers, according to Barbet at BNP easy payday loan.

“Although Japan is not a major trading partner, there is a lot of competition in third markets with Japanese companies and the euro is still expensive compared to the yen,'' he said. “All this is not a favorable background for exporters.''

A widening rate gap with the U.S. has fueled the euro's surge against the dollar. The U.S. Federal Reserve yesterday cut its benchmark lending rate by three-quarters of a percentage point to 2.25 percent, taking the reduction since Sept. 18 to 300 basis points. By comparison, the ECB has left its key rate unchanged at a six-year high of 4 percent since June.

`Weak Dollar'

What some call a “strong euro'' is really “a weak dollar, ECB Executive Board Member Juergen Stark said in a March 10 interview with Portugal's Jornal de Negocios.

The euro also has risen against the pound in the last 12 months, appreciating by 15 percent. And measured against an index of the euro area's 24 main trading partners, it has gained 8.5 percent in that time.

Exports to the U.K. rose 5 percent last year, the statistics office said in today's report, while shipments to both Russia and Poland surged 21 percent. Exports to China jumped 12 percent, outpaced by an 18 percent jump in imports from that nation. China overtook the U.K. last year as the euro area's biggest foreign supplier, and the region's trade gap with the Asian country widened 21 percent to 110 billion euros.

The detailed data are published with a one-month lag. Seasonally adjusted figures for January 2008 show that exports rose 7.4 percent from December. Imports also rose 7.4 percent and the overall trade deficit widened to 2 billion euros from 1.8 billion euros the prior month.

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