Business
The Imports the U.S. Relies On Most From 140 Nations, From Albania to Zimbabwe
President Trump’s on-and-off tariffs have created deep uncertainty about the cost of imported goods — and it’s not always clear what goods will be most affected with any given country.
The largest U.S. imports from many countries are oil and gas, electronics, cars and pharmaceuticals. But there’s another way to look at what Americans import: trying to measure a country’s distinct contribution to the U.S.’s total needs.
For example, China’s largest exports to the U.S. — by dollar value — are electronics. But the U.S. also imports large quantities of electronics from elsewhere. Nearly 100 percent of imported baby carriages, however, come from China.
Switzerland, meanwhile, is responsible for nearly all of America’s imported precious metal watches. Ethiopia, on the other hand, sends the U.S. around 2 percent of its imported knit babies’ clothes — but that’s a larger share than for any other item it exports to the U.S.
The table below shows the item the U.S. relies on most from each of 140 trading partners. (We took out items that the U.S. also exports in large quantities, such as petroleum.)
What the U.S. is most reliant on from each country
COUNTRY
ITEM
Pct. of
U.S. imports
from here
Canada
Live pigs
>99%
Peru
Calcium phosphates
>99%
South Africa
Chromium ore
98%
Switzerland
Precious metal watches
98%
China
Baby carriages
97%
Mexico
Self-propelled rail transport
94%
Portugal
Natural cork articles
93%
India
Synthetic reconstructed jewelry stones
89%
Italy
Vermouth
86%
Indonesia
Palm oil
85%
Madagascar
Vanilla
80%
Turkey
Retail artificial filament yarn
79%
Brazil
Semi-finished iron
76%
Vietnam
Coconuts, brazil nuts, and cashews
75%
Australia
Sheep and goat meat
74%
New Zealand
Misc. animal fats
73%
Gabon
Manganese ore
71%
Chile
Refined copper
71%
Netherlands
Bulbs and roots
70%
Spain
Olive oil
62%
Taiwan
Tapioca
62%
Argentina
Groundnut oil
60%
Colombia
Cut flowers
60%
Bolivia
Tungsten ore
59%
Dominican Republic
Rolled tobacco
59%
Cote d’Ivoire
Cocoa paste
59%
Germany
Felt machinery
58%
Finland
Cobalt oxides and hydroxides
56%
Japan
Pianos
52%
Israel
Phosphatic fertilizers
50%
Philippines
Coconut oil
50%
France
Insect resins
50%
Thailand
Sugar preserved foods
47%
Malaysia
Rubber apparel
46%
Ireland
Sulfonamides
45%
Pakistan
Light mixed woven cotton
43%
Singapore
Glass with edge workings
39%
Guatemala
Bananas
38%
Ecuador
Cocoa beans
38%
South Korea
Rubber inner tubes
33%
Jamaica
Aluminum ore
33%
Bangladesh
Non-knit babies’ garments
31%
Austria
Handguns
29%
United Kingdom
Antiques
28%
Cambodia
Gum coated textile fabric
25%
Nicaragua
Rolled tobacco
24%
Guyana
Aluminum ore
24%
Ukraine
Seed oils
24%
Belgium
Flax woven fabric
22%
Bahrain
Stranded aluminum wire
22%
Sri Lanka
Coconut and other vegetable fibers
21%
Morocco
Barium sulphate
20%
Romania
Steel ingots
19%
Norway
Carbides
19%
Sweden
Stainless steel ingots
17%
Costa Rica
Bananas
16%
Honduras
Molasses
16%
Paraguay
Wood charcoal
16%
Denmark
Casein
15%
Tunisia
Pure olive oil
15%
Russia
Phosphatic fertilizers
15%
Fiji
Water
15%
Hong Kong
Pearls
13%
Nepal
Knotted carpets
13%
Poland
Processed mushrooms
12%
Lebanon
Phosphatic fertilizers
12%
Croatia
Handguns
12%
Bulgaria
Non-retail combed wool yarn
12%
Laos
Barium sulphate
12%
Mozambique
Titanium ore
11%
Ghana
Cocoa beans
11%
Bahamas
Gravel and crushed stone
10%
Greece
Dried, salted, smoked or brined fish
10%
Jordan
Knit men’s coats
10%
Czech Republic
Rolling machines
10%
El Salvador
Molasses
10%
Egypt
Spice seeds
10%
United Arab Emirates
Raw aluminum
9%
Uganda
Vanilla
9%
Nigeria
Raw lead
9%
Uruguay
Bovine, sheep, and goat fat
9%
Latvia
Book-binding machines
9%
Kazakhstan
Ironmaking alloys
8%
Cameroon
Cocoa paste
8%
Lithuania
Wheat gluten
8%
Oman
Metal office supplies
8%
Hungary
Seed oils
7%
Belize
Molasses
7%
Faroe Islands
Non-fillet fresh fish
6%
Qatar
Pearls
6%
Myanmar
Misc. knit clothing accessories
5%
Zambia
Precious stones
5%
Slovenia
Packaged medications
5%
Senegal
Titanium ore
5%
Algeria
Cement
4%
Haiti
Knit T-shirts
4%
Kenya
Titanium ore
4%
Liechtenstein
Iron nails
4%
Georgia
Ironmaking alloys
4%
Liberia
Rubber
4%
Serbia
Rubber inner tubes
4%
Iceland
Fish fillets
4%
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Refined copper
3%
Botswana
Diamonds
3%
Chad
Insect resins
3%
Zimbabwe
Leather further prepared after tanning or crusting
3%
Luxembourg
Polyamide fabric
3%
Panama
Non-fillet fresh fish
3%
Albania
Ironmaking alloys
3%
Estonia
Fishing and hunting equipment
2%
Ethiopia
Knit babies’ garments
2%
Namibia
Wood charcoal
2%
Venezuela
Processed crustaceans
2%
Slovakia
Rubber tires
2%
Lesotho
Knit men’s shirts
2%
Tanzania
Precious stones
2%
Papua New Guinea
Vanilla
1%
Mauritius
Processed fish
1%
Saudi Arabia
Iron nails
1%
Moldova
Wine
Suriname
Non-fillet fresh fish
Angola
Pig iron
Armenia
Diamonds
Trinidad and Tobago
Non-fillet fresh fish
Macau
Knitted hats
North Macedonia
Curbstones
Togo
Fake hair
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Non-knit women’s coats
Republic of the Congo
Antiques
Azerbaijan
Ironmaking alloys
Iraq
Antiques
Libya
Misc. vegetable products
Cyprus
Olive oil
Kuwait
Ironmaking alloys
Malta
Air conditioners
British Virgin Islands
Diamonds
Brunei
Knit T-shirts
Cayman Islands
Phones
Equatorial Guinea
Knitted hats
Sint Maarten
Hard liquor
Curious where the U.S. imports a particular item from? You can look it up below.
Searchable table
Computers $138.5 billion in imports
Mexico
35%
China
26%
Taiwan
19%
Vietnam
11%
Thailand
5%
Phones $119 billion
China
42%
Vietnam
17%
Mexico
9%
India
7%
Thailand
7%
Packaged medications $100.4 billion
Ireland
16%
Switzerland
12%
India
12%
Italy
7%
China
6%
About the data
We analyzed U.S. International Trade Commission data on goods imported for consumption in 2024. We used product descriptions from the Observatory of Economic Complexity to label the goods, and edited these descriptions lightly.
We grouped goods using the first four digits of their code in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, which lists categories of products.
We excluded goods that are widely produced in the U.S., using export data to remove goods where the U.S. exports at least 25 percent of what it imports by value.
We included only trading partners that export at least $50 million of goods each year to the U.S.