The U.S. Census Bureau recently released its data on U.S. trade in goods by selected countries and world region for 2015. HowMuch.net built three maps to provide a proportional visualization of the trade that occurs between the U.S. and other countries.
Exports are represented in green, imports are represented in red, and the balance (exports - imports) is represented by red or green depending on whether the U.S. has exported more or less goods than it has imported. For instance, if a country’s imports exceeds its exports, the country will experience a trade deficit, which represents an outflow of domestic currency to foreign markets.
Based on the data, the U.S. exported over $1.5 trillion and imported over $2.2 trillion in goods throughout 2015. This leaves leaves the U.S. with a negative balance of $735 billion!
Largest Balances by Country
Take a look at the top 5 countries with the largest balances (positive and negative):
Top 5 Positive Balances
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Hong Kong: $30.5 billion
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Netherlands: $24.0 billion
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Belgium: $14.6 billion
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Australia: $14.2 billion
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Singapore: $10.4 billion
Top 5 Negative Balances
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China: $365.7 billion
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Germany: $74.2 billion
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Japan: $68.6 billion
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Mexico: $58.4 billion
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Ireland: $30.4 billion
Top 5 Countries for Exports
Take a look at the top 5 countries that the U.S. has exported goods to:
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Canada: $280.3 billion
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Mexico: $236.4 billion
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China: $116.2 billion
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Japan: $62.5 billion
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United Kingdom: $56.4 billion
Together the top 5 countries make up about 50% of all U.S. exports.
Top 5 Countries for Imports
Take a look at the top 5 countries that the U.S. has imported goods from:
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China: $481.9 billion
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Canada: $295.2 billion
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Mexico: $294.7 billion
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Japan: $131.1 billion
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Germany: $124.1 billion
Together the top 5 countries make up about 59% of all U.S. imports.
Maintaining a Balance in Trade
Looking at the data by area shows that South/Central America, OPEC and Africa are the only regions with positive balances, whereas North America, Europe, and Pacific Rim areas show a negative balance. Interestingly, China, which as a negative balance of $365.7 billion represents ~80% of the negative balance attributed to the Pacific Rim countries and ~50% of the overall negative balance! To put this into perspective, the continent of Europe represents only ~23% of the overall negative balance for selected countries.
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So the next time someone comes on TV and proclaims that the collapse in world trade volumes is irrelevant to the US equity market and US economy... perhaps point them in this direction.