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U.S. Trade (2001–2022)

Ehsan Soltani

In the 21st century (2001–2022), U.S. foreign trade experienced remarkable growth, increasing by 166% (Compound Annual Growth Rate - CAGR of 4.6%), reaching $5,435 billion in 2022. Throughout this period, exports, imports, and the trade balance all exhibited similar growth rates, with a CAGR of 4.6%. Specifically, U.S. exports, imports, and the trade balance totaled $2,062 billion, $3,373 billion, and -$1,131 billion, respectively, in 2022.

Between 2001 and 2022, the export of fuel and related products surged by 2,737%, while imports increased by 131%. Consequently, the trade deficit for fuel and related products turned positive since 2020. Similarly, imports of manufacturing products grew at a rate similar to the overall trade rate, but twice the rate of exports for these products, leading to a significant trade deficit. Consequently, manufacturing products have been a major contributor to the U.S. trade deficit since 2015. Over the period 2001–2022, the total trade deficit increased by $833 billion, with manufacturing products accounting for $1,051 billion of this increase.

Economic classification reveals that the U.S. manufacturing products trade deficit is composed of capital goods (35.9%), consumption goods (30.2%), transport equipment (21.2%), and industrial supplies (12.7%) in 2022. Mechanical and electrical machinery, as well as transport equipment, constitute nearly half of the total U.S. trade deficit in 2022.

The share of total capital goods, transport equipment, and consumption goods from total U.S. exports declined from 65% in 2000 to 36% in 2022. This indicates a growing reliance on exports of fuel and raw materials rather than finished manufacturing products, thus exacerbating the U.S. trade deficit.
 

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