As of 2024, the United States had a trade deficit of about *** billion U.S. dollars. The U.S. trade deficit has increased since 2009, peaking in 2022. Most recently, 2023 marked the year when the U.S. trade deficit decreased from the previous year. What is trade deficit? A trade deficit is, quite simply, the total value of a country’s imports of goods and services minus the total value of its exports of goods and services. When a country exports more than it imports, it has a trade surplus, and when it imports more than it exports, it has a trade deficit. A trade deficit can mean one of two things: Either the country is failing to produce enough goods for its citizens, or its citizens are wealthy enough to purchase more goods than the country produces (as is the case with the United States). Trading partners The United States’ top export partners are its closest neighbors, Canada and Mexico, due in part to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which, pending ratification, will be replaced by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Regarding imports to the U.S., China takes the top spot, followed by Mexico and Canada.

The United States is the world's largest exporter of health equipment. In 2024, medical equipment exports from the North American country reached a value of close to ** billion U.S. dollars. Mexico follows, with approximately ** billion U.S. dollars’ worth of exports that year. Germany, the Netherlands, and China are also among the top trading nations within the market. The United States: net importer of health equipment While the trade value of both imports and exports into and from the United States is substantial, overall, the United States is a net importer of health equipment. In 2024, the country’s imports surpassed its exports by approximately **** billion U.S. dollars, with Mexico its most important trade partner. Trade in North America Beyond health equipment, Mexico and the United States remain key partners when it comes to international trade. In fact, Canada, Mexico, and the United States constitute one of the biggest trading blocs in the world under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), with trade between the United States and Mexico alone surpassing *** billion U.S. dollars in 2023.

In 2022, global stainless steel production was measured at around 55.3 million metric tons. This was a decline of approximately five percent compared to the 2021 volume. Overall, the melt shop production volume mainly increased over the past decade. Prior to that, the yearly global stainless steel production was well below 30 million metric tons. Stainless steel is an iron alloy resistant to stains or rust due to a high level of chromium.

Global steel industry

Stainless steel is used in a variety of industries, including construction, automobile assembly, chemical processing, piping, and pollution control, to name a few. Globally, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA, previously NAFTA) recorded an increase in stainless steel export of roughly ten percent compared to 2021’s export level. However, apparent steel use had declined by three percent that same year. Stainless steel in the U.S.

The U.S. accounted for a small percentage of the global stainless steel production; the production of stainless steel in the U.S. has dipped by nearly 15 percent in the year 2022. The U.S. and other USMCA countries continue to rely on stainless steel imports to meet demand. Most of the stainless steel imported to USMCA countries regionally came from Asia and Western Europe.