Components and Statistics, What
Does the United States Trade With Foreign Countries?
The biggest components of U.S.
imports and exports are oil and consumer goods.
In 2016, total U.S. trade with
foreign countries was $4.9 trillion. That was $2.2 trillion in exports and $2.7 trillion in imports of both goods and services. The United States was the
world's third-largest exporter, after China and the European
Union. It was the world's second-largest
largest importer after the EU. (Source: "U.S. Trade in Goods and Services," U.S. Census. CIA World Factbook Rankings.)
What
Does the United States Export?
Goods make up more than
two-thirds of U.S. exports ($1.4 trillion). One-third of exported
goods are capital goods ($519
billion). The largest sub-category is commercial aircraft
($121 billion). Other capital goods include industrial machines
($51 billion), semiconductors ($44 billion), and telecommunications
($41 billion). Electric apparatus ($42 billion) and medical equipment
($35 billion) are also significant contributors.
Another third of exported goods
is industrial supplies ($398 billion).
The largest sub-category is chemicals ($71 billion). Next are
petroleum products ($51 billion), fuel oil ($30 billion) and plastic ($32
billion). Non-monetary gold is $20 billion.
Only 13 percent of exported
goods are consumer goods ($194
billion). This includes pharmaceuticals ($53 billion), cell
phones ($24 billion) and gem diamonds
($21 billion).
Automobiles make up 10 percent of all exported goods.
In 2016, that was $150 billion.
Just 9 percent of exported
goods are foods, feeds and
beverages ($131 billion). The big three are soybeans ($24
billion), meat and poultry ($17 billion) and corn ($11 billion).
Food exports are falling since many
countries don't like U.S. food processing standards. That was a major block to
the Obama
administration's successful negotiation of
the Transatlantic
Trade and Investment Partnership.
Services contribute one-third of U.S.
exports ($750 billion). The largest single category was travel
services, at $293 billion. Computer and business services export $178 billion.
The next category was royalties and license fees, at $120 billion. Other private
services, such as financial
services, added $120
billion. Government and military contracts added $20 billion.
(Source: "U.S. Exhibit 3. U.S. Exports of Services by Major
Category," U.S. Census.)
What
Does It Import?
More than 80 percent of U.S.
imports are goods ($2.2
trillion). Slightly less than a third of these are industrial machinery and equipment ($444 billion).
The largest sub-category is oil and petroleum products, at $144 billion.
Capital
goods make up one-fourth of all
goods imported ($590 billion). That includes computers ($114 billion) and
telecommunications equipment, including semiconductors ($123 billion).
Almost another quarter is consumer goods ($584 billion).
Of this, apparel and footwear is the largest ($123 billion). Next is
the cell
phone and TV category
($121 billion). Pharmaceutical imports are
$112 billion. U.S consumer
spending is dependent upon these low-cost
imported goods.
The fourth-largest category is automotive vehicles, parts and
engines at $350 billion. The food,
feeds and beverages
category is the smallest, at
$130 billion. (Source: "Exhibit 8. U.S. Imports by End-Use Category," U.S. Census.)
Services make up 19 percent of imports ($502 billion).
The largest category is travel and transportation services at $219 billion. The next is business and
computer services at $139 billion. Banking and insurance is $73 billion. Last but not least was government
service imports at $21 billion.
(Source: "Exhibit 4. U.S.
Imports of Services by Major Category," U.S. Census.)
Since the United States imports more
than it exports, its trade deficit is $502 billion. Even
though America exports billions in oil, consumer goods and automotive
products, it imports even more.
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