Who are USA’s biggest importers?

The total trade in US Goods and Services, exports plus imports, was $5.231 trillion in 2017. Total export volume was $2.331 trillion, and US imports was $2.900 trillion. The trade deficit (exports minus imports) in 2017 was; $0.568 trillion.

It is this trade deficit that has been a major cause of concern for the Trump Administration, and in March 2018, announced tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum imports.

The country most impacted by this decision has been China. China is the largest producer of steel and aluminum in the world and is the largest supplier of goods and services to the United States.

Top 15 Sources for US Imports   (in the US $ million)
Country	Goods & Services			Goods			Services
	2017	2016	2015	2017	2016	2015	2017	2016	2015
Canada	338,917	313,524	331,902	306,131	283,574	302,731	32,786	29,950	29,171
Mexico	345,974	324,972	326,214	319,699	300,403	303,335	26,276	24,569	22,878
China	524,019	479,428	499,122	506,469	463,288	484,058	17,550	16,139	15,064
UK	109,535	106,644	112,181	53,760	54,946	58,592	55,776	51,698	53,589
Japan	171,017	165,188	163,821	138,431	134,184	134,302	32,586	31,004	29,519
Germany	152,717	147,968	157,190	118,112	114,573	125,393	34,604	33,395	31,777
South Korea	82,626	81,358	83,667	71,621	70,384	72,430	11,005	10,974	11,237
Brazil	32,274	31,417	34,272	27,752	24,620	26,438	6,522	6,797	7,834
France	66,974	63,495	64,668	49,244	47,044	48,357	17,700	16,451	16,311
Hong Kong	17,596	16,532	16,147	7,978	7,784	7,309	9,619	8,748	8,838
India	77,413	71,933	69,519	48,736	46,125	44,909	28,677	25,808	24,610
Singapore	26,995	25,044	25,043	19,360	17,786	18,330	7,635	7,258	6,713
Taiwan	50,671	46,979	48,649	42,538	39,248	41,004	8,132	7,732	7,645
Italy	62,424	56,810	55,204	50,179	45,471	44,418	12,245	11,339	10,786
Saudia Arabia	20,150	18,145	23,265	18,938	16,982	22,148	1,212	1,163	1,117

In 2017, US imports with the Chinese touched $524.01 billion, close to the total trade deficit the U.S. recorded for 2017, all countries included. In retaliation to U.S. imposition of tariffs aimed mainly at China, China imposed counter tariffs on manufactured goods and commodities from the U.S.

Trade representatives on both sides remain engaged trying to avert a trade war that will affect economies of both countries, and also could drag global trade with it.

After China, Mexico and Canada respectively, are the biggest trading partners of the United States. Mexico and China have recorded the maximum growth in trade with the U.S. since 2015. The U.S., Mexico, and Canada are signatories to the North American Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and this has boosted trade among the three countries. The biggest beneficiary being Mexico that witnessed several leading American manufacturing companies, including automobiles, to shift their production to Mexico. Goods produced in Mexico were cheaper to the end user (the customers) in the U.S., but also led to a reduction in manufacturing jobs in the United States. While Mexico has been the second biggest goods supplier to the U.S., Canada was the third largest services provider, to the U.S.

The challenge of bringing back jobs to the U.S. along with unfavorable trade terms of NAFTA prompted the Trump administration to push for a renegotiation of the agreement. The uncertainty over NAFTA pending final settlement is likely to reflect on trade figures of all three countries in 2018-19.

The United Kingdom remained the 6^th largest supplier of goods and services to the U.S.; it was the largest services provider touching $55.77 billion in 2017. BREXIT is not expected to impact the services business to the U.S. in 2018-19 greatly, but trade between the UK and the EU is expected to get affected.

Top  15 U.S. Imports in 2017  by Product Category (U.S. $ millions)
Petroleum and Non-Petroleum	2,266,954
Capital Goods, except Automotive	702,061
Consumer Goods	588,681
Industrial Supplies and Materials	487,199
Automotive Vehicles, Parts and Engines	354,006
Foods, Feeds, and Beverages	104,757
Other Goods	92,088

The United States is the world’s biggest importer of goods and services. The country has been facing a widening trade deficit (imports exceeding exports) especially with its biggest trading partner China.

Overall imports have far exceeded exports for the country for a long time. Despite emerging as the world’s second largest producer of petroleum and related products, the U.S. imports in 2017 reached $2.26 trillion (exports were $1.50 trillion). The U.S. has invested heavily in shale gas, but at the time global prices of crude oil dipped to record levels, and production of shale became unviable.

In 2018, with global prices for crude oil rising to $70 per barrel, shale production once again is looking attractive. The U.S. is likely to remain a large producer of shale gas in the future. Exports of shale gas are likely to offset any future reduction in demand for crude oil for the U.S.

Through most of the 20^th century, the U.S. economy has grown on the innovation and development of capital goods spurred by domestic and global demand. While the U.S. remains a leader in innovation and development, China is fast catching up in not only low-cost production but is beginning to challenge U.S. lead in innovation and development.

In 2017, the second largest imports after petroleum were capital goods. The U.S. imports recorded $702.06 billion (exports $544.70 billion). Growing imports of petroleum have been another area of concern for the Trump administration. How to reduce the trade deficit?

Top  15 U.S. Imports in 2017 – Goods (U.S. $ millions)
Passenger Cars, Old & New	29,831
Crude Oil	25,377
Pharmaceutical Preparations	18,817
Other Parts and Accessories of Vehicles	17,762
Cellphones and other Household Goods	17,072
Telecommunications Equipment	12,828
Computers	10,159
Computer Accessories	9,335
Industrial Machines, Other	8,897
Semiconductors	8,718
Apparel, Textiles, Non-wool or Cotton	8,495
Electric Apparatus	8,389
Apparel, Household goods – Cotton	7,179
Medical Equipment	6,315
Toys, Games, Sporting Goods	6,112

Passenger cars, both old and new, remain the U.S.’s biggest import of manufactured goods. Automotive accessories too have been major imports for the U.S.

In 2017, the total U.S. imports of passenger cars touched $29.83 billion (exports $9.92 billion). The U.S. faced a trade deficit $19.91 billion on cars.

Petroleum products were the second largest import followed by pharmaceutical preparations. Import value of mobile phones, consumer electronics, and consumer durables was almost the same as automotive parts and accessories, another area where China dominates global production.

Top  U.S. Imports in 2017 – Advanced Technology Products (U.S. $ millions)
Total Imports	64,450
Information and Communications	34,276
Life Science	7,517
Aerospace	7,012
Electronics	6,489
Biotechnology	4,032
Optoelectronics	2,356
Flexible Manufacturing	1,999
Advanced Materials	422
Nuclear Technology	201
Weapons	145

In advanced technology, IT and related products comprised the largest segment by value recording $34.27 billion in 2017. Overall, besides China, countries like Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Germany, and France were major beneficiaries of U.S. imports, as suppliers of high technology products. The U.S. remains a large market for aerospace and life sciences related products.

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