Trump Tariff Plans Would Hit Most Important Trade Partners

Trade with Mexico, China and Canada accounted for around 43 percent of all U.S. goods imports in 2023 in terms of monetary value. UN Comtrade data shows that the United States imported $3.2 trillion worth of goods and exported $2.0 trillion in the corresponding year. Of these exports, goods shipped to Canada comprised 18 percent of the monetary export value, while Mexico's share stood at 16 percent.

A closer look at the types of goods imported from Mexico shows that the three biggest commodity types, vehicles, electronic equipment and machinery, account for around $300 billion of the $480 billion import bill. Canada's main exports to the U.S. in terms of value are mineral oils and fuels, vehicles and machinery, while it's electronic equipment, machinery and toys for China. The U.S.' main exports to China are mineral fuels and oils, soybeans and machinery, while the North American country sends electronic equipment, machinery and mineral fuels and oils to Mexico and vehicles, electronic equipment and machinery to Canada.

Apart from goods, the U.S. also exports and imports services, even though unlike the goods sector the trade balance here is heavily tilted towards exports, with almost $1 trillion in exports and $700 billion in imports in 2022 according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative. The top service purchasers were Ireland, the United Kingdom and Canada, while the top suppliers were the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan.

Proposed tariffs on imported goods were one of the economic lynchpins of President Trump's campaign. For example, Trump plans to implement 25 percent on goods shipped to the U.S. from Canada and Mexico and anything between 10 and 60 percent on Chinese goods, according to CNN reporting, some of these as early as February 1.