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Table 7
World's Top Merchandise Importing Countries and Their Imports from the United States: 2008

Table 7
World's Top Merchandise Importing Countries and Their Imports from the United States: 2008

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(Millions of current U.S. $)

Rank in 2008 Country Total imports Share of world total imports (percent) Imports from United States Imports from U.S. as share of country's total (percent)
NA World 16,708,900 100.0 1,340,520 8.0
1 United States 2,166,020 13.0 NA NA
2 Germany 1,204,750 7.2 50,399 4.2
3 China 1,196,750 7.2 80,723 6.7
4 Japan 761,803 4.6 78,974 10.4
5 France 706,670 4.2 30,274 4.3
6 United Kingdom 634,542 3.8 55,192 8.7
7 Netherlands 573,758 3.4 43,368 7.6
8 Italy 556,328 3.3 17,355 3.1
9 Belgium 470,194 2.8 26,112 5.6
10 Canada 449,077 2.7 235,479 52.4
11 South Korea 435,275 2.6 38,556 8.9
12 Spain 403,045 2.4 13,893 3.4
13 Hong Kong 388,947 2.3 19,541 5.0
14 Mexico 339,464 2.0 166,468 49.0
15 Singapore 319,779 1.9 37,853 11.8
16 India 304,166 1.8 20,533 6.8
17 Russia 274,284 1.6 12,204 4.4
18 Brazil 229,877 1.4 34,233 14.9
19 Australia 211,111 1.3 25,346 12.0
20 Poland 205,148 1.2 2,973 1.4
21 Turkey 201,964 1.2 11,977 5.9
22 United Arab Emirates 190,203 1.1 17,324 9.1
23 Austria 184,501 1.1 3,306 1.8
24 Switzerland 183,002 1.1 10,612 5.8
25 Malaysia 181,851 1.1 14,543 8.0
  Rest of the world 3,936,391 23.6 293,284 7.5

KEY: NA= Not applicable.

NOTE: Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China, but is separate from China in U.S. Foreign Trade Statistics.

SOURCES: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, based on data from various sources. United States-U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division, available at www.census.gov, as of May 12, 2009. World-International Monetary Fund, Direction of Trade Statistics. Available at www.imfstatistics.org, as of Sept. 14, 2009.

  • The United States is the world's largest importer of goods. Crude oil, petroleum products, passenger motor vehicles, electrical machinery, and electronics are among the top imports by value (USDOC CB FTD 2009).

  • Canada, Mexico, and Brazil's imports from the United States account for a large proportion of their overall imports.

  • Over half of Canada's imports are from the United States. Canada's top imports from the United States include passenger cars, trucks, buses, vehicle parts, and civilian aircraft.

  • Nearly half of Mexico's imports are from the United States. The top imports from the United States are motor vehicles and parts, electronic equipment and parts, electrical apparatus, and petroleum products.

  • The United States accounted for about 15 percent of imports into Brazil, an important emerging economy. Top imports into Brazil from the United States include civilian aircraft and parts, computer equipment, and telecommunications equipment.

  • In 2008, China imported less from the United States ($81 billion) than it exported to the United States ($273 billion). Its imports from the United States accounted for 7 percent of the country's total imports, and its exports to the United States accounted for 19 percent of its total exports.