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1 1 (April 24, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govzlw0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Informing the legislative debate since 1914 April 24, 2019 U.S. Trade: Recent Trends and Developments Background Over the past two years, Congress has demonstrated significant interest in U.S. and international trade trends as part of its efforts to examine U.S. trade policy and key U.S. trading relationships. In particular, demand for comparative analysis of bilateral trade flows and balances has heightened as the Trump Administration takes actions with the intention of reducing U.S. bilateral trade deficits, enforcing U.S. trade laws and agreements, and promoting what it considers to be free, fair, and reciprocal trade. The role of Congress in trade policy stems from a number of overlapping responsibilities, including its constitutional authority over regulating commerce with foreign countries and broad oversight responsibility over the performance of the economy. The changing dynamics and composition of U.S. trade are important to Members, because they can affect the overall health of the U.S. economy, the success of U.S. workers and firms, and the U.S. standard of living. U.S. Trade in Goods U.S. merchandise exports totaled $1.67 trillion in 2018, a 7.7% ($118.9 billion) increase from the 2017 level (Table 1). The value of U.S. merchandise imports was $2.5 trillion over the same period, up 8.6% ($202.7 billion) from 2017. U.S. imports increased more than U.S. exports, leading to an increase of $83.8 billion (10.4%) in the U.S. merchandise trade deficit to $891.3 billion. Trade in Goods with Leading Partners In 2018, the European Union (EU)-as a single entity- was the United States' top trading partner in terms of two- way (exports plus imports) merchandise trade, followed by China, Canada, and Mexico. China's share in U.S. merchandise trade has increased dramatically over the past two decades, from 5.8% in 2000 to 15.6% in 2018. Ranked by exports, the EU was the leading market for U.S. exports, which totaled $320.5 billion (19.2% of all U.S. exports). Canada was the second-largest export market ($299.4 billion worth of U.S. exports, or 17.9%), followed by Mexico and China. In terms of imports, China was the leading source of U.S. imports ($540.3 billion, or 21.1% of all U.S. imports), followed by the EU ($490.8 billion, or 19.1%), Mexico, and Canada. The United States had merchandise trade deficits with most of its major partners in 2018, including with China ($419.3 billion), the EU ($170.3 billion), Mexico ($87.3 billion), and Japan ($68.9 billion). U.S. merchandise exports to most major trading partners increased from 2017 to 2018. The largest was a $37.5 billion (12.5%) increase in U.S. exports to the EU. It was followed by a $21.7 billion increase in exports to Mexico (up 8.9%) and a $16.5 billion increase to Canada (up 5.8%). In percentage terms, on a country basis, the largest increases in U.S. exports in 2018 were to India (29.0%), Italy (25.7%), and the UK (17.8%). U.S. exports to China and Saudi Arabia decreased 7.2% and 16.7%, respectively. https:/crsrepo Table I. U.S. Trade in 2018 U.S.$ % Change (billions) from 2017* Total Exports 2,500.8 6.4 Exports of Goods 1,672.3 7.7 Exports of Services 828.4 3.9 Total Imports 3,122.9 7.6 Imports of Goods 2,563.7 8.6 Imports of Services 559.2 3.1 Total Balance (Deficit) -622.1 12.6 Balance on Goods (Deficit) -891.3 10.4 Balance on Services (Surplus) 269.2 5.5 Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, April 17, 2019. Note: * not adjusted for inflation. U.S. merchandise imports from all top trading partners- except Hong Kong-increased in 2018. The largest increases in imports were $53.4 billion (12.2%) from the EU, $34.0 billion (6.7%) from China, and a $32.9 billion (10.3%) from Mexico. In percentage terms, the largest increases were from Singapore (40.0%), Saudi Arabia (27.6%), and the UK (14.6%). U.S. imports from Hong Kong decreased 12.8%. U.S. Trade in Services In 2018, U.S. exports of services increased 3.9% ($30.7 billion), from $797.7 billion to $828.4 billion, while U.S. services imports grew 3.1% ($16.7 billion), from $542.5 billion to $559.2 billion. The U.S. surplus in services trade increased 5.5% ($14.0 billion) to $269.2 billion. Trade in Services with Leading Partners The EU was the United States' top trading partner in terms of two-way (exports plus imports) trade in services in 2018, while the largest single-country services trading partners were the UK, Canada, Japan, and China. Since 2000, the share of U.S. services trade with partners like the UK, Canada, and Japan has decreased, while that of China and India, for example, has grown dramatically. The EU was the largest export market for U.S. services in 2018. It was also the largest foreign supplier of U.S. services imports, accounting for $255.9 billion (30.1%) of total U.S. services exports and for $196.01 billion (35.1%) of total U.S. services imports. After the EU, the top markets for U.S. services exports were the UK, Canada, China, and Japan, while the top sources of U.S. services imports were the UK, Canada, Germany, and Japan. In 2018, the United States maintained a services trade surplus with every major services trading partner except Italy ($3.6 billion deficit), India ($3.0 billion), and Taiwan ($1.6 billion). rts.congress.gov

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