The Whole Picture - Global Economics
Take a moment to consider some of the items you interact with or use on a daily basis, like your food, your clothes, your electronics, or your family's car. Do you know where these items were made? If possible, check the label or packaging to see where these items were manufactured. Why do you think each item was produced in that particular country? Do you see the same country names repeated over and over?
The table below is based on data from the United States Census Bureau, and shows the top ten trading partners of the United States in 2017. Did any of these countries produce the personal items you inspected? If so, which ones?
| Top United States Trading Partners (2017) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Country | Total Trade (in billions) | Percentage of Total U.S. Trade |
| 1 | China | $636 | 16.4% |
| 2 | Canada | $582.4 | 15% |
| 3 | Mexico | $557 | 14.3% |
| 4 | Japan | $204.2 | 5.3% |
| 5 | Germany | $171.2 | 4.4% |
| 6 | South Korea | $119.4 | 3.1% |
| 7 | United Kingdom | $109.4 | 2.8% |
| 8 | France | $82.5 | 2.1% |
| 9 | India | $74.3 | 1.9% |
| 10 | Italy | $68.3 | 1.8% |