Exporting

All the tools and resources you need to export your goods across the world

Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. The two most traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65), in which a northern Union of states defeated a secessionist Confederacy of 11 southern slave states, and the Great Depression of the 1930s, an economic downturn during which about a quarter of the labor force lost its jobs. Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most powerful nation state. Since the end of World War II, the economy has achieved relatively steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology.

Location

North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico

Natural Resources

coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, rare earth elements, uranium, bauxite, gold, iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc, petroleum, natural gas, timber, arable land

Population - distribution

large urban clusters are spread throughout the eastern half of the US (particularly the Great Lakes area, northeast, east, and southeast) and the western tier states; mountainous areas, principally the Rocky Mountains and Appalachian chain, deserts in the southwest, the dense boreal forests in the extreme north, and the central prairie states are less densely populated; Alaska's population is concentrated along its southern coast - with particular emphasis on the city of Anchorage - and Hawaii's is centered on the island of Oahu

310232863
English 79%, Spanish 13%, other Indo-European 3.7%, Asian and Pacific island 3.4%, other 1% (2015 est.)
New York-Newark 18.593 million; Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana 12.31 million; Chicago 8.745 million; Miami 5.817 million; Dallas-Fort Worth 5.703 million; WASHINGTON, D.C. (capital) 4.955 million (2015)
Conventional long form
United States of America
Conventional short form
United States
Local long form
Local short form
constitutional federal republic
Name
Washington
Geographic coordinates
38 53 N, 77 02 W
Time difference
UTC-5 (during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time
+1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November
withdrew acceptance of compulsory ICJ jurisdiction in 2005; withdrew acceptance of ICCt jurisdiction in 2002
The US has the most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $57,300. US firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially in computers, pharmaceuticals, and medical, aerospace, and military equipment; however, their advantage has narrowed since the end of World War II. Based on a comparison of GDP measured at purchasing power parity conversion rates, the US economy in 2014, having stood as the largest in the world for more than a century, slipped into second place behind China, which has more than tripled the US growth rate for each year of the past four decades.
Inflation
1.262%
Total tax rate (% of commercial profits)
44.0%
Real Interest Rate
2.168%
Manufacturing, value added (% of GDP)
12.27%
Current Account Balance
US$ -481,210,000,000
Labor Force, Total
162,173,604
Employment in Agriculture
1.62%
Employment in Industry
18.39%
Employment in Services
79.99%
Unemployment Rate
4.91%
Imports of goods and services
US$ 2,786,284,000,000
Exports of goods and services
US$ 2,264,313,000,000
Total Merchandise Trade
21.14%
FDI, net inflows
US$ 425,256,000,000
Commercial Service Exports
US$ 732,551,000,000
wheat, corn, other grains, fruits, vegetables, cotton; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish; forest products
highly diversified, world leading, high-technology innovator, second-largest industrial output in the world; petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining
Commodities
agricultural products (soybeans, fruit, corn) 9.2%, industrial supplies (organic chemicals) 26.8%, capital goods (transistors, aircraft, motor vehicle parts, computers, telecommunications equipment) 49.0%, consumer goods (automobiles, medicines) 15.0% (2008 est.)
Partners
Canada 18.6%, Mexico 15.7%, China 7.7%, Japan 4.2% (2015)
Commodities
agricultural products 4.9%, industrial supplies 32.9% (crude oil 8.2%), capital goods 30.4% (computers, telecommunications equipment, motor vehicle parts, office machines, electric power machinery), consumer goods 31.8% (automobiles, clothing, medicines, furniture, toys) (2008 est.)
Partners
China 21.5%, Canada 13.2%, Mexico 13.2%, Japan 5.9%, Germany 5.5% (2015)
Country Risk Rating
A2
The political and economic situation is good. A basically stable and efficient business environment nonetheless leaves room for improvement. Corporate default probability is low on average.
Business Climate Rating
A1
The business environment is very good. Corporate financial information is available and reliable. Debt collection is efficient. Institutional quality is very good. Intercompany transactions run smoothly in environments rated A1.
  • Flexibility in the labor market
  • Full employment is also one of the objectives of the Federal Reserve
  • Predominant role of the dollar in the global economy
  • Nearly 60% of the public debt held by residents
  • Growing energy self-sufficiency
  • Low employment rate
  • Households' limited geographic flexibility
  • Polarization of political life
  • Lower fertility rate
  • Obsolescence of many infrastructures

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