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.

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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.

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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.

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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.