Top Products Being Imported In The US (Along With Their Estimated Value)

The United States is one of the largest importers in the world. Therefore, it plays a major role in the trade flow in the international market. The import-export data suggests that the United States traded products worth $3.89 trillion in 2019. Out of this, the country exported products worth $1.51 trillion and imported products worth $2.38 trillion!

However, the country saw a decrease of -6.3% in imports from 2019 to 2020. The United States imported goods and services worth $2.408 trillion in 2020. When observed from a continental view, the export-import data bank suggests that America imported 45.1% of its total imports from the suppliers of Asia.

This article discusses the top products being imported in the US along with their estimated values.

Major Imports Of The United States

Given below is the major imported products list of the United States along with their estimated values:

1. Cars- 7.46% of the total U.S. imports ($178 billion)
2. Crude Petroleum- 5.14% ($123 billion)
3. Computers- 3.44% ($81.9 billion)
4. Broadcasting equipment- 3.43% ($81.8 billion)
5. Packaged medicaments- 3.34% ($79.5 billion)
6. Vehicle parts- 3.01% ($71.6 billion)
7. Blood, vaccines, toxins and cultures- 1.92% (45.8 billion)
8. Office machine parts- 1.63% ($38.9 billion)
9. Medical Instruments- 1.19% ($28.3 billion)
10. Integrated Circuits- 1.05% ($25.1 billion)

The imported products list suggests that cars were the major products imported to the United States in 2019, followed by crude petroleum and computers.

Major Countries That Supplied Products To The U.S.

Given below is the list of the top import partners of the United States in 2019:

1. China- 18% of total U.S. imports ($429 billion)
2. Mexico- 15.1% ($361 billion)
3. Canada- 13.2% ($314 billion)
4. Japan- 5.64% ($134 billion)
5. Germany- 5.49% ($134 billion)
6. South Korea- 3.14% ($74.8 billion)
7. United Kingdom- 2.71% ($64.7 billion)
8. Vietnam- 2.67% ($63.7 billion)
9. India- 2.32% ($55.3 billion)
10. Ireland- 2.25% ($53.7 billion)

According to the import-export data, China was the major import partner of the United States and held a share of 18% of total U.S. imports in 2019. It was followed by Mexico and Canada, which had 15.1% and 13.2% of total U.S. imports.

The Changes Seen In The U.S. Trading Due To The Pandemic

The year 2020 was overshadowed by the pandemic and was challenging for the entire international market. As a result, U.S. exports dropped by 15.9 per cent to $2.1 trillion. At the same time, the export-import data bank says that the country's imports dropped by 9.5 per cent to $2.8 trillion in 2020. As a result, the country saw the largest drop in imports since 2009, and the exports fell the largest ever.

Because exports dropped more than imports, the United States increased the trade deficit by 18.2 per cent to $681.7 trillion. This trade deficit was the highest in the last twelve years.

On the other hand, the country saw increased imports of gold and medical products like pharmaceuticals and PPE kits. The investors jumped to save assets like gold, due to which the gold imports increased by 260 per cent.

The imports of pharmaceuticals increased to $139.5 billion, which was 5.8% of total U.S. imports in 2020, during the pandemic. These pharmaceuticals consisted of medications, blood fractions, special pharmaceutical items, packaged dressings and dried organs.

There was an increase of 40% of imports of blood fractions which totalled $60 billion in 2020. In addition, the pandemic forced the government to import more PPE kits, due to which the import increased by more than 240 per cent (of PPE kits).