U.S. Imports and Exports both down in September – trade deficit narrows

November 17, 2008 by SwizStick  
Filed under Education, QuickNews

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The good news, as widely reported by just about everybody, is that the trade deficit in September decreased to $56.5 billion from $59.1 billion in August. The bad news is that both imports AND exports were down, it’s just that imports decreased more than exports. According to the JOC, the main reason for the narrower trade deficit is due to lower imported oil prices and auto/auto parts imports.

On a brighter note, or possibly curious note, I thought it’d be interesting to highlight who our trade surplus partners are – that is, countries where we export more to them than the other way around. Most of the time it seems all that is reported is the countries where we have a trade deficit. Here are the top 10 countries with which the U.S. has a trade surplus (year to date figures):

1. Netherlands – $14.2 billion
2. Hong Kong – $11.9 billion
3. Singapore – $10.4 billion
4. United Arab Emirates – $9.9 billion
5. Australia – $9.1 billion
6. Belgium – $8.7 billion
7. Turkey – $5.1 billion
8. Switzerland – $4.5 billion
9. Panama – $3.6 billion
10. Netherlands Antilles – $1.6 billion

Sure, these numbers pale in comparison to our deficit partners, but I figured it would be nice to see some of the bright spots in U.S. trade numbers. And speaking of those deficit countries, it’s interesting to note how many of them involve oil imports: Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, and Russia. That’s 4 out of the top 10, and our deficits with Canada and Mexico can also be partly chalked up to oil as well.

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