Einar H. Dyvik
Research expert covering Nordics and global data for society, economy, and politics
U.S. Trade - Statistics & Facts
As a massive consumer and a prodigious producer of merchandise, it comes as no surprise that the United States is a major player in international trade. In 2024, the United States ranked as the second largest global merchandise exporter, with total exports trade value surpassing two trillion U.S. dollars, making up a considerable share of world's total export trade. The United States also ranked as the leading merchandise importing nation in the world that year, with a value that amounted to about 3.2 trillion U.S. dollars.
Trade balance of the U.S.
The overall value of both imports and exports to and from the United States has seen a steady increase between 2000 and 2023. One consistent trend in that time period is that there is a trade deficit of goods and a surplus of services from the United States. In other words, the United States exports fewer goods than it imports, and exports more services than it imports. The U.S. trade deficit has widened in recent years when it reached over one billion U.S. dollars.Main trading partners
In 2023, the United States imported about 480 billion dollars of goods from Mexico, making it the biggest importer to the United States. Canada takes first place as the leading export partner to the United States, with around 354 billion U.S. dollars of American goods exported to Canada in that year. California is home to the largest domestic economy in the United States, producing a significant share of the country’s crops as well as intellectual property. As a result, California is one of the top importers and exporters of international goods in the United States. In the most recently reported month, California's import value of goods was over 40 billion U.S. dollars.
