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Biggest Trading Partners - US

Which countries does the United States trade with the most? Try to guess the largest import and export partners for the US.
For the year 2021. In millions of USD. Source.
Quiz by relessness
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Last updated: May 5, 2022
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First submittedJune 19, 2014
Times taken83,098
Average score81.0%
Rating4.63
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Keep scrolling down for answers and more stats ...
Exports
Country
307,001
Canada
276,459
Mexico
181,023
China
74,970
Japan
65,772
South Korea
65,174
Germany
61,463
United Kingdom
53,580
Netherlands
Exports
Country
46,882
Brazil
40,130
India
36,944
Taiwan
35,763
Singapore
33,654
Belgium
30,681
France
26,434
Australia
24,017
Switzerland
Imports
Country
541,547
China
388,378
Mexico
365,737
Canada
139,389
Japan
138,240
Germany
108,195
Vietnam
98,820
South Korea
80,736
Taiwan
Imports
Country
77,020
India
74,048
Ireland
63,646
Switzerland
63,062
Italy
57,840
Malaysia
57,491
United Kingdom
51,733
France
50,429
Thailand
+6
Level 82
Jun 20, 2014
nice quiz
+5
Level 71
Dec 5, 2014
I am surprised that Canada exports more to USA than it Imports .........
+15
Level 82
Dec 8, 2014
Canada's population is 1/10th that of the United States'.
+14
Level ∞
Nov 15, 2016
It's fairly balanced now. The rise of fracking and the lower cost of oil has reduced imports from Mexico, Canada, and Saudi Arabia. Venezuela and Russia have fallen off the list entirely since 2012.
+2
Level 71
Feb 28, 2017
I don't see what population has to do with this question, 9 of the first 10 countries export more to US than they import and the populations differ enormously.
+10
Level 82
Feb 28, 2017
There are reasons for all of that Malbaby. But Canada and the United States are extremely similar in terms of culture, level of industrialization and development, scores on the HDI, number of college graduates, types of industries they have etc etc etc. So the fact that the United States has 1000% more people, and therefore obviously consumes far more than Canada does, means that Canadian goods have a higher demand in the US than American goods have in Canada. There is some balance in that the USA produces far more goods to export than Canada does... but without people in Canada to sell them to...
+3
Level 67
Apr 24, 2017
A crapload of business is done in the auto sector on the Detroit-Toronto corridor. Ontario alone was until recently a bigger trading partner than China or Japan.
+2
Level 82
May 11, 2022
Oh wow. You're one of those crazy people passing along links to the Zeitgeist Movement and Venus Project videos on YouTube? Is *that* how you got started down the rabbit hole toward complete detachment from reality? Or did it start with Communism and then drifted toward that on a tangent one day?
+1
Level 84
Oct 16, 2014
Nice quiz indeed. I was caught off guard by Malaysia. What is the import from there? Petrol?
+6
Level 70
Dec 2, 2014
I bet its electronics.
+3
Level 82
Dec 2, 2014
There are a ton of things made in Malaysia. Mostly electronics, clothing and jewelry. They also export a lot of oil, palm oil and rubber but I don't think those things go to the US so much.
+4
Level 43
Dec 2, 2014
When I was younger I remember many of my toys having been stamped made in malaysia. Hot Wheels for one.
+2
Level 82
Dec 2, 2014
Yeah. same.
+1
Level 18
Jan 4, 2015
Now, most of the toys are 'MADE IN CHINA'
+1
Level 67
May 19, 2022
I got a new bed a year or two ago that was made in Malaysia.
+2
Level 76
Dec 2, 2014
Cool! How about doing a similar one but per capita/per square km?
+3
Level 56
Dec 2, 2014
Good quiz! I am surprised to not see Israel here.
+1
Level ∞
Dec 2, 2014
Why? Israel has a tiny population.
+9
Level 82
Dec 3, 2014
I'm in Israel right now and am surprised at just how few American products you see on store shelves. There are Doritos and Pringles and candy bars; Pepsi/Coke of course, but very little else. Many of the things are locally produced. You see a lot more American stuff almost anywhere else.
+6
Level 82
Dec 3, 2014
Also, apart from McDonald's you see almost no American restaurants here, either, which is quite odd after coming from the Gulf where they are omnipresent. I've seen the odd Domino's and Pizza Hut, and just spotted a Subway at the bus station today. Most of the chains are also local.
+2
Level ∞
Nov 15, 2016
Israel makes the list now!
+3
Level 82
Feb 28, 2017
^true, but it's for imports not exports.
+5
Level ∞
Apr 30, 2019
And now it's gone again.
+1
Level 29
Aug 28, 2020
So does Singapore
+2
Level 82
Mar 24, 2021
canadry: more propaganda, as usual. Weapons represent a tiny fraction of the trade between the two countries.
+1
Level 84
May 5, 2022
Israel is quite good at making their own weapons.
+1
Level 47
Dec 2, 2014
Ah! Missed Taiwan!
+1
Level 66
Dec 2, 2014
Me too!
+1
Level 36
Dec 2, 2014
Very good quiz. Only missed the southeast Asian trio of Malaysia, Taiwan, and Singapore. Kind of embarrasing though since I am doing a report on the region at the moment.
+1
Level 34
Dec 2, 2014
No Cuba?
+1
Level 17
Dec 2, 2014
Great Quiz!
+2
Level 85
Jun 20, 2016
arg only missed thailand
+4
Level ∞
Nov 15, 2016
This quiz shows you just how unbalanced America's trade relationship is with most countries. Its a trend that will have to be corrected at some point. But I'm not implying malice. I think the most likely explanation for the gap is that it's relatively easy and incredibly lucrative to market products in the United States. There is no other market that is so big and few that are so open to competition.
+5
Level 47
Nov 15, 2016
Also the fact that the dollar is so strong relative to other currencies. It is a similar situation (now not so much with Brexit) in the UK. The Pound was worth way more than the it should be, so imports are cheap and exports are less competitive. It's also the reason why Germany is able to have such a massive export market compared to other countries in the Euro like Greece. Their currency is effectively devalued as they share it with weak economies with Greece, Italy and Spain.

In theory having a trade deficit can last forever, as long as you can keep on paying for it, through reducing your savings or selling your assets abroad. However this is not really sustainable. So eventually the dollar will fall in value, allowing American exports to be more competitive.

+4
Level 47
Nov 15, 2016
However that's not to say that having a strong currency isn't beneficial to the United States. Another of the reasons it is so strong is that the dollar is used so widely throughout the world. It is the main reserve currency for basically every country and most commodities are bought with it. This makes it easier for American's to trade with other countries. A company in Madagascar, for example, will find it very difficult to trade with another country with their currency. Nobody wants their money (I don't even know what it's called...) so the cost of currency transactions will be considerably higher. For American's literally anyone will accept their currency so the cost of trade is basically nothing.
+1
Level 74
Mar 1, 2023
It doesn't necessarily need correction - what you lose on one relationship, you will gain on others.
+4
Level 63
Dec 11, 2016
I have a bad habit of forgetting that Singapore exists. Its just so small that I miss it when I mentally review the world.
+2
Level 60
Jan 12, 2017
Same. What will it take?
+15
Level 77
Apr 28, 2017
Probably a good caning
+2
Level 47
Dec 26, 2016
I made this quiz thinking that no one had attempted it before!
+1
Level 22
Dec 29, 2016
I bet USA got rich because it imports a lot more than exports
+4
Level 47
Dec 29, 2016
Or maybe, USA got rich allowing it to import more than it exports?
+2
Level 82
Jun 27, 2020
Why do you have a better understanding of trade than the sitting US president who claims that's his area of expertise?
+1
Level 60
Jan 12, 2017
Except that in 30 years' time we literally went from being the world's biggest creditor to being the world's biggest debtor. Just think about it: how can anyone get rich by buying a lot more than they sell?
+4
Level 47
Jan 19, 2017
Well quite clearly the U.S. has. Its gdp per capita has grown from 36,000 in 1990 (in today's prices) to about 52,000 today. Take your point that U.S. buys more than it sells. Obviously this isn't going to last for ever. But that isn't how you get rich. The whole global economy sells the exact same amount that it sells, unless there's a secret interplanetary economy I'm not aware of. Yet the global GDP has grown massively almost every year since the industrial revolution.

If you're a company in America who decides to move their factory from Ohio to China, you will create a trade deficit to the U.S., assuming you only sell to Americans. However you still own the goods being made in China, you still own the factory and all the primary goods needed to make your product. Except because your costs have fallen (the reason why you moved production to China) your profits have now increased. Profit is income, so you're now richer.

+5
Level 47
Jan 19, 2017
Basically you getting confused with mercantilism and capitalism. Mercantilism is the economic theory that was most common in colonial Europe. That in order to generate wealth you have to have a positive balance of trade. Why? Because there is a finite amount of wealth and capital in the world which remains the same every year. If you want to have a greater share of the global wealth you have to transfer it to your country through higher exports than imports. The US, among most of the world now follows capitalism. Where if you invest your disposable income then you can increase the amount of capital available. With more capital, you can make more stuff and therefore get richer, crucially without making anyone poorer. Trade deficits are now no longer the determinate of deciding which countries are most powerful, or rather least powerful.
+1
Level 66
May 29, 2019
Trade creates wealth--there are gains from trade, created by moving goods (and their inputs) to the people who value them more. As long as the US captures a significant portion of the wealth created through its exports and imports, it will become richer, regardless of which side of the transactions it's on.
+1
Level 66
Mar 12, 2020
In short, if you sell a complete product for more than you paid for the sum of components
+2
Level 67
Dec 29, 2016
I agree with people above, this is a very good quiz.
+1
Level 61
Dec 29, 2016
Please accept UAE as united arab emirates
+2
Level 47
Dec 29, 2016
Er we do
+1
Level 16
Dec 29, 2016
Why no Spain? Typing in 'Korea' doesn't work.
+4
Level 65
Oct 29, 2021
Spain just doesn't trade with the U.S. as much as the other countries. There are two Koreas. To distinguish them, we call one North Korea and the other South Korea.
+1
Level 22
Dec 31, 2016
MEXICO AND SOUTH KOREA :(:(:( I MISSED THEM:(

Great Quiz tho

+1
Level 52
Jan 23, 2017
Can Taiwan be on this list when the US technically doesn't recognise it as a country
+6
Level 76
Feb 28, 2018
Hey, just 'cause we don't recognize them as a country doesn't mean we won't do business with them.
+1
Level 43
Oct 27, 2017
If you like this quiz, try my Smallest Trading Partners - United States
+2
Level 62
May 27, 2019
Can’t believe I got Belgium and Chile but missed South Korea
+1
Level 50
May 27, 2019
everyone got China lel
+1
Level 37
Jun 2, 2019
UAE (United Arab Emirates) is one of the biggest trade partners with the USA. Dubai city being one giant re-export hub. Suprised that its not mentioned.
+3
Level ∞
May 5, 2022
Source is listed. UAE is not a correct answer.
+1
Level 67
Mar 15, 2020
I somehow missed only France, of all things.
+1
Level 77
Jan 5, 2022
Surprised that Singapore is the least guessed in this community. That was my third guess after Canada and China. Just knowing that so much trade flows through Singapore I thought it would be a more guessed answer.
+2
Level 67
Oct 3, 2022
I always try Singapore and Netherlands because they are big international trade hubs.
+1
Level 53
Apr 5, 2022
Singapore with 2 sec left. Phew!
+4
Level 68
May 6, 2022
Anybody else really surprised by Ireland?
+1
Level 79
May 6, 2022
Malaysia was unexpected. Probably the one on the list that most Americans could not locate on a world map.

The top import categories from Malaysia in 2020 were: electrical machinery ($26 billion), machinery ($5.4 billion), rubber ($2.8 billion), optical and medical instruments ($2.6 billion), and furniture and bedding ($2.0 billion).

Who hasn't dreamt of the day they could sleep in a Malay Mattress?

+1
Level 38
May 10, 2022
Ah, I forgot USA’s child: Taiwan 😁(jk)
+1
Level 27
May 10, 2022
I was able to get all but SWITZERLAND and IRELAND...
+1
Level 66
Dec 5, 2022
Hey, wanted to ask about this:

I'm a relatively new quizmaker and I'm making a quiz that has the same answer twice, but I only want the answer to count as 1/however many instead of 2/however many. Any advice that you've got?

+1
Level 67
Jun 29, 2023
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