US international Trade

The top five trading partners for the US in 2017were China, Canada, Mexico , Japan and Germany and the trade was worth $577.8 , $533.7,$ 512.2,$185.8 and $155.6 Billion in that order (United States Census Bureau, 2017).  China was the largest export market for US products that included agricultural produce, aircraft, machinery, electrical machinery and vehicles. The major agricultural product exports comprised of coarse grains, soya beans, port and its products, skins and hides.  The major imports from China included processed agricultural products and fresh produce and some services in form of transport and research, travel and development services (USTR NEWS, n.d).  The US exports to Canada comprise of vehicles, machinery, electrical machinery, mineral fuels and plastics, fresh and processed food products. The products imported from Canada include mineral fuels, vehicles, plastics, machinery, fresh and processed products.  The major exports to Mexico and Germany from US includes machinery, mineral fuel, pharmaceutical products and medical and optic instruments. The major imports from the two countries include organic chemicals, Vehicles, medical and optic equipments (USTR NEWS, n.d).

The total dollar value for the trade between US and the major trade partners up to November 2017 was 1.4529 trillion dollars (United States Census Bureau, 2017).  . The imports and exports trade balance shows that there is a trade deficit for the US in trading with its top five partners. The US runs a trade deficit with these partners because of various factors: the products costs in these countries are lower than US; there is not market for products that are best made in US; the partners many things US, but US imports are higher than exports.  However, US net services exports are normally higher than imports which lead to a trade surplus, which means that US services have a better competitive edge in the market.  An increase in trade deficit normally has negative effects on an economy since debts are incurred to finance the deficit (Arnold, 2010).

 The Current Account Deficit is widely used to measure trade deficit and other relevant components. Trade Deficit represents the biggest part of Current Account Deficit and describes a country’s trade balances or highlights the relationships between products imported and products exported including goods and services. A country will experience a trade deficit if the overall goods’ and services value imported are greater than overall exports value.  Trade relations are important to the US economy, including exports and imports, because they normally have an impact on the labor market. In fact, more than 41 million jobs in the US are supported by trade with international partners (US Chamber of Commerce, n.d). This indicates that over one in each five jobs in US relates to trade over the recent years. Every state in United States has experienced net employment benefits that can directly be traced to trade.  The opportunities arising along with exports and import trends indicate that trade is an important aspect in creation of jobs in the country, and this has been on the increase after the 2008-2009 economic recessions (US Chamber of Commerce, n.d). s.  The US trade with partners has largely been based on open market which, even though has led to increased imports, has contributed to creation of jobs. However, imposing of trade restrictions such as tariff is likely to lead to a retaliatory increment on rates of tariffs.  This means that US exports would fall which would in turn lead to job losses.

References