


For the last 14 years, China has ranked as the top source of U.S. imports. As recently as five years ... [+]
The United States now imports more from both Mexico and Canada than China, a spectacular decline for the country that, as recently as five years ago, accounted for more than 20% of all U.S. imports.
Though May of this year, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data, China accounted for 13.35% of all imports while Mexico accounted for 16% and Canada for 15%, ending the Asian nation’s 14 consecutive years as the top source for U.S. imports.
The one-two punch has been punishing Trump Administration tariffs on a huge swath of U.S. imports from China and a global pandemic that exposed the risks inherent in over-dependency on a single source for raw materials and finished goods.
While the supply-chain impacts related to Covid-19 have largely passed, President Biden has kept his predecessor’s tariffs in place.
This decline occurred despite the fact that total U.S. trade with the world topped a stunning $5 trillion for the first time in 2022, with imports topping $3 trillion and exports topping $2 trillion, also for the first time.
Looking at the current data, U.S. imports from China through May of this year totaled $168.63 billion, down from a record $222.84 billion in 2022. That’s a decline of 24.42% at a time when U.S. imports from the world slipped just 5.62%.
The steep decline in imports from China further deepens Mexico’s position as the top overall U.S. trade partner — exports and imports. It also deepens Port Laredo’s standing as the No. 1 gateway for U.S. trade, climbing ahead of the Port of Los Angeles, the long top-ranked U.S. airport, seaport of border crossing, and Chicago’s O’Hare, which is also highly depended on imports from China.
Among the top imports from China, here are where the steepest declines have occurred: