Will a trade war against our largest trading partners work?
Exports to China continue to be important to US economic growth
US goods exports to China continue to outpace export growth to the rest of the world. In 2017, the United States exported more goods to China than ever before—more than $127 billion. US exports of goods to China have grown by 86 percent over the last decade, while exports to the rest of the world grew by only 21 percent.
China is the third-largest market for US goods and services exports. China was a top market for US goods exports in 2017, with only NAFTA partners Canada and Mexico buying more goods last year. It was also the third-largest market for US services exports, following the United Kingdom and Canada.
Exports to China support 1 million American jobs. States across the country have jobs that are supported thanks to US exports to China, making trade important to not only US companies and consumers, but also US workers. US goods exports to China come from a wide range of industries including transportation equipment, agriculture, computers and electronics, and oil and gas, sustaining logistics jobs in America’s ports and throughout the country. US services exports to China included travel and education, transportation, financial, business and professional services, among other industries.
Goods exports to China rebounded in 2017. Following two years of declines, US goods exports to China increased by $14 billion in 2017—growing twice as fast as exports to the rest of the world.
Exports of services to China are significant, and largely drive growth in US services exports. In 2016, the most recent complete year of available data, US services exports to China surpassed $50 billion for the first time, totaling more than $52 billion--only slightly less than what we sold that year to Canada. In the decade from 2007 to 2016, US services exports to China increased more than 300 percent, while services exports to the rest of the world increased about 50 percent. US services exports to China grew by 12 percent in 2016, while US services exports to the rest of the world contracted by 0.6 percent.
https://www.uschina.org/reports/us-exports/national