Andrew Akinmoladun

California Intercontinental University

ECO 615
Case Study I

Instructor: Dr. Drena Valentine

11/19/2014

Introduction
The Untied States of America has greatly benefited from the international trade according
to the data in TSE.export.gov (2014), a factor which has made it the largest economy in the
world. United State has been able to trade with the rest of the world by importing what it cannot
produce and exporting what it produces cheaply. The country has some partners which it trades
with intensively as compared to the others. Clearly, does not trade with all countries of the
world. The country has had some surpluses and deficits in its trade with the world. Evidently,
the country has had good trade relations with other countries as compared to others. North
America Trade Association has played an important role in the trade of its member countries
with the rest of the world.
The paper will shows the trading activities of the United States of America with the rest
of the world. It captures the leading export and import activities, the leading trading partners of
the United States(US) and the deficits and surpluses that the country has with its global trading
partners. The time period mainly captured in the paper is that between 2012 and 2013 which is a
current and valid period to analyze the current activities of the United States in the international
trade. From the paper, a number of lessons concerning international trade are inherent. Some
things which might seem bad for an economy are good for international trading and are a part of
the trade.
The leading United State exports and imports in terms of value
The United States leading exports are the exports of merchandise to Canada, followed by
Mexico and then China. In 2012, the US exported merchandise worth $1,545,703,253,743 and
in the following year it exported merchandise worth $1,579,592,865,783 to the rest of the world.

its exports to Canada the largest importer of the US products, the value totaled to $292,650,534,
087 in 2012 and $609,598,250 in 2013. The second greatest values of exports were, the
countrys exports to Mexico whereby in 2012, exports of merchandise to the country totaled,
$215,907,060,828 and in 2013 the value raised to $226,079,069,503. The third leading export
was to china in which the exports to the country totaled $110,515,573,703 in 2012 and $121,736,
380,464 in the following year (US states Census bureau, 2013).
The other countrys which the US exports large values of merchandise are Finland,
Trinidad and Tobago, New Zealand, El Salvador, Bahamas, Austria, Gibraltar, Poland, Sweden,
Norway, Vietnam, Egypt, Honduras, Guatemala, Nigeria, Ireland, Dominican republic, and
Spain. Also Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, and Turkey in the middle east The named countries are
leading exports for the US since 2013.
The United States import most of its products from China, Canada and Mexico in that
order. The country imported merchandise worth $ 2,276,302,276,997 in 2012 and in 2013, US
imported merchandise worth $ 2,268,321,253,653. Of the total imports, while in 2012,
$425,626,201,300 were from China and of the total imports of 2013, $440,447,696,412 were
from China. The second largest exporter to the United States is Canada.
In 2012, $324,264,030,311 worth of goods was imported from Canada and in the following year,
$332,552,762,992 was from the country. Mexico is the third largest exporter to the United States.
In 2012, the country exported $277,593,589,235 and in the following year it exported
$280,528,799,845 worth of merchandise to the united states (US states Census bureau, 2013).
The other major countries which the United States imports from are also indicated in red
in the international trade administration website (Trade state Express.gov, 2014). Among them

are Japan, Germany, South Korea, France, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan,
Venezuela and Russian Federation among others. In 2013, the countries marked red imported
$348,6599,766 worth of merchandise to the United States.
The most important trading partners with the United State of America
In the international trade administration in the department of commerce website, the
leading exports in terms of value are marked red. In that way, the data is easily understood by the
visitor to the website. They are the most important trading partners with the United States. The
most important trading partners with the United States are Canada, Mexico and China; in that
order. The values of the US exports to Canada are the most totaling to $301,609,598,250 in
2013. The country is a member of North American Free Trade Agreement, in which it agreed
with the United States and Mexico to ease trade barriers among the countries.
The agreement has made the countries increase trade among the member countries.
Mexico which is also an important trading partner to the United States is also a member country
of the trade agreement. Most of Mexicos imports are from the United States. The trade
agreement has made the member countries increase the trade among the member countries as it
has been witnessed in the increase in trade among the member countries since 1994 when the
countries signed the agreement.
China is another important trading partner with the United States. The country is the
third largest importer of the US products. it is however not a member of the NAFTA treaty.
China and the US have important trading relations apart from some conflicts which were
experienced during the Korean War and the Vietnam war. The two countries have had mutual
economic interests and the two are large economic powers with the United States being the

worlds largest economy and China the second largest one. In 2012, China imported
$110,515,573,703 worth of merchandise from the United States and in the following year it
imported $121,736,380,464 worth of merchandise. It is thus the third largest importer of
Americas merchandise in the world.
The countries with the largest trade deficits and trade surpluses with the United State
The countries with the largest trade surpluses with the United States are Hong Kong,
Netherlands and then United Arab Emirates. In 2012, the country had the largest trade surplus
with Hong Kong. The value was $32,014,935,705 and in 2013 it was still the largest with a
value of $36,657,516,745.
The countries with the largest trade deficits with the United States are China, Japan and
Germany. In 2013, the United States imported more than what it exported to China. As such, the
country had a trade deficit of -$318,711,315,948 which was the largest trade deficit. In 2012, the
trade deficit with china was also the largest with the value being -$315,110,627,597. In its trade
with Japan, the trade deficit was -$73,367,548,474 in that particular year and -$76,474,144, and
708 in 2013. That was the second largest trade deficit in the countrys trade with the rest of the
World.

Conclusion
The regional trading block and agreements play an important role in increasing the
trading activities among the member nations. The North America Free Trade Area (NAFTA)
increased the trading activities among the member states. It not only increased the member
states trade in the region but also with the rest of the world. A country like Mexico has
increased its presence in the global economy despite the claims of lack of benefit in the regional
trade. The economic level of the country greatly benefited from the arrangement. Canada too
greatly benefited from the agreement and so did the United States.
Trade deficits are not always a bad thing for an economy. The United States economy
has numerous trade deficits with most of its global trading partners. From the economic position
and condition of the country, the deficits are not particularly bad as at some point, they balance
out with the surpluses which the country has with its other trading partners. From the data, it is
thus true that the US has greatly benefited from international trade and so do other countries.
There is no single country which can do everything on its own. All countries need to trade with a
foreign country so as to benefit the entire economy. The United States of America has indeed
greatly benefited from the international trade, a factor which has made it the largest economy in
the world. It has been able to trade with the rest of the world by importing what it cannot produce
and exporting what it produces cheaply. The country has some partners which it trades with
intensively as compared to the others. It does not trade with all countries of the world. The
country has had some surpluses and deficits in its trade with the world. The country has had
good trade relations with other countries as compared to others. North America Trade
Association has played an important role in the trade of its member countries with the rest of the
world.

References
Garbar J. (2014) International Economics, 5th Edition:9780135100158. pg
Trade state Express.gov, (2014).International trade administration website. Retrieved from
http://tse.export.gov/TSE/MapDisplay.aspx

US states Census bureau, (2013).Census.gov website. Retrieved from

http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/guide/sec2.html#source_exp