This analysis is based on international trade data sourced from the UN Comtrade database. To structure the dataset meaningfully, a comprehensive country list was developed using UNCTAD’s classification system. Countries are categorized into developed and developing economies, with the latter further disaggregated into Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs), and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

To enhance the analytical scope, additional country groupings were incorporated, including members of the G20, G77 (plus China), and BRICS (with Indonesia). These classifications allow for a more nuanced understanding of global trade flows and their distribution across economic and geopolitical groupings.

This analysis uses USA-reported import and export data. For the import dataset, values for the years 2005, 2014, and 2019 are not available. To preserve the continuity of trends in visualizations, graphs were constructed by connecting available data points directly, without interpolation. This means that line graphs may appear continuous across those years, while underlying values for the missing periods remain unreported.

library(dplyr)
library(tidyr)
library(ggplot2)
library(knitr)

IMPORT DATA

Share of Imports by UNCTAD Development Status

USA Import Shares by Development Status (2000–2024)
Year developed developing
2000 58.8 41.2
2001 58.6 41.4
2002 56.6 43.4
2003 54.8 45.2
2004 53.2 46.8
2006 49.3 50.7
2007 48.5 51.5
2008 47.2 52.8
2009 46.2 53.8
2010 45.1 54.9
2011 44.8 55.2
2012 44.9 55.1
2013 45.5 54.5
2015 46.0 54.0
2016 45.8 54.2
2017 45.0 55.0
2018 45.1 54.9
2020 46.4 53.6
2021 45.7 54.3
2022 45.4 54.6
2023 47.6 52.4
2024 46.9 53.1

Top 10 U.S. Import Partners (Reported by USA)

The focus here is on identifying the United States’ current key import partners, without delving into long-term trends. Broader trend analysis will be conducted separately within specific country groupings.

Top 10 USA Import Partners – Share of Total Imports (2020-2024)

partnerISO 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Mexico 14.0 13.6 14.0 15.6 15.7
China 19.5 19.0 17.6 14.6 14.3
Canada 11.8 12.8 13.6 14.0 13.0
Germany 5.0 4.8 4.6 5.3 5.0
Japan 5.2 4.9 4.7 4.9 4.7
Viet Nam 3.6 3.8 4.1 3.9 4.4
Rep. of Korea 3.3 3.5 3.7 3.9 4.2
Ireland 2.8 2.6 2.5 2.7 3.2
India 2.3 2.7 2.8 2.8 2.8
Italy 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.4 2.4

Top 5 USA LDC Import Partners

Top 5 LDC Countries by Share of USA Imports in 2024
partnerISO 2024 (Billion USD) Share (%)
Cambodia 13.4 0.41
Bangladesh 8.8 0.27
Angola 1.9 0.06
Lao People’s Dem. Rep. 0.8 0.03
Madagascar 0.8 0.02

Top 5 USA LLDC Import Partners

Top 5 LLDC Countries by Share of USA Imports in 2024
partnerISO 2024 (Billion USD) Share (%)
Kazakhstan 2.4 0.07
Lao People’s Dem. Rep. 0.8 0.03
Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 0.5 0.02
Ethiopia 0.5 0.02
Botswana 0.4 0.01

Top 5 SIDS Import Partners

Top 5 SIDS Countries by Share of USA Imports in 2024
partnerISO 2024 (Billion USD) Share (%)
Trinidad and Tobago 3.5 0.11
Bahamas 1.8 0.06
Jamaica 0.4 0.01
Fiji 0.3 0.01
Mauritius 0.2 0.01

Top 5 Import Partners by UNCTAD Region

Top 5 Import Partners by UNCTAD Region in 2024 with Regional and Global Share
partner_UNCTAD_region partnerISO 2024 (Billion USD) Share within Region (%) Global Share (%)
Africa South Africa 14.8 36.6 0.46
Africa Nigeria 5.9 14.5 0.18
Africa Egypt 2.7 6.7 0.08
Africa Algeria 2.5 6.3 0.08
Africa Morocco 2.0 4.9 0.06
America Mexico 510.0 46.5 15.75
America Canada 421.2 38.4 13.01
America Brazil 44.2 4.0 1.36
America Colombia 18.4 1.7 0.57
America Chile 17.4 1.6 0.54
Asia and Oceania China 462.6 34.6 14.29
Asia and Oceania Japan 152.1 11.4 4.70
Asia and Oceania Viet Nam 142.5 10.7 4.40
Asia and Oceania Rep. of Korea 135.5 10.1 4.18
Asia and Oceania India 91.2 6.8 2.82
Europe Germany 163.4 21.4 5.05
Europe Ireland 103.8 13.6 3.20
Europe Italy 78.4 10.3 2.42
Europe United Kingdom 68.8 9.0 2.13
Europe Switzerland 64.0 8.4 1.98