The economy of the United States of America is highly developed and extremely diverse. If we look at the nominal GDP, it is considered to be the world’s largest economy. It is also the world’s second-largest economy based on purchasing power. When we look at the technological advancements, it is safe to presume that the U.S. has the most technologically powerful economy in the world. It is placed on the forefront in fields such as pharmaceuticals, computers, and military equipment. Naturally the country has a lot of trading partners.
The largest trading partners of the United States are China, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Germany. The United States is the world’s largest importer, and the second-largest exporter, which is quite an achievement. Approximately 87% of the exports and imports of the United States are done with 30 countries. This means that the rest of the countries fall under an extremely small percentage so it is hard to determine which ones they are specifically. The country also has several free trade agreements with many countries.
The Biggest Trade Partners
Imports and exports of the United States are tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau, on a monthly basis. The largest trading partners for the United States are, in order: China, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Germany, South Korea, United Kingdom, France, India, Italy, Taiwan, Brazil, Netherlands, Ireland, and Switzerland. These are just the top 15, and the list usually includes 15 more countries. Some of the more notable ones include Vietnam, Singapore, Belgium, and Malaysia.
However, these numbers only count goods, or products, that cross international borders. Many services are not included here, like tourism or financial services. An interesting piece of data is that if we take the European Union as a whole as a single trading partner, it would beat out all of the other convincingly and become the biggest trade partner of the United States. Of course, this isn’t fair, but it is an interesting fact nonetheless.
The Exports and Imports Of The United States
The impact that Mexico has on the economy of the United States is extremely important, which makes all of the politics of the current president seem even weirder. Donald Trump is seemingly actively trying to undermine good relations with the country. The most important U.S: exports fall under the category of goods. They contribute to two-thirds of the entirety of the exports. They are mostly capital goods, which include commercial aircrafts, industrial machines, and semiconductors. Other important exports include medical equipment and industrial supplies such as petroleum and chemical products. Automobiles are responsible for 10% of the exports, and surprisingly, food products are only 8% of the exported goods.
The majority of the imports of the United States are goods. This includes computers and communications, as well as consumer goods. Consumer goods mostly refer to cell phones and televisions. This is followed by apparel and footwear, which is an important import for the country as well. Industrial machinery is another important import from the trade partners of the United States. This includes oil and petroleum products. The fourth-largest category of imports are automobiles and all related products. This is followed by food and beverages, as the smallest category of imports.