Has US Imports Increased In 2021? (Compare With 2019 And 2020)

The trade industry has numerous variables governing it, a fact that stands true for all the nations, including the trading giant, the US. In the last three years itself, the country has witnessed massive ups and downs in the market trends, making the industry vulnerable to constant changes.

This article focuses on the global trade reports of the US in the last three years- 2019, 2020, and 2021, highlighting the comparison of US imports and whether they have increased or not.

A Report Of US Trade In 2019

World trade was going steady in 2019; before the pandemic, all the countries maintained their status quo, with the US being the 2nd largest importer and the 3rd largest exporter of goods and services.

Looking at US trade data by country, other countries of note would be Vietnam and the Philippines who rose in world rankings for the exporting of merchandise. The United Arab Emirates and Qatar quickly rose to the top two countries to export services, a highly coveted title. This can be credited to both their central location and the growth of tourism in these countries.

However, all was not well compared to the previous year; world trade recorded a 0.1 decrease after recording a 2.9 increase the last year. It does not mean that global trade has contracted; in fact, it simply means that it is catching up to the phenomenal growth of the previous year.


The United States as a single country counted for 14.1% of the year's trade. It is by far the largest contribution to the global business from a single government. The European Union contributed 30%. This is why most importers and exporters are eager to analyze US import data because there is a plush market and many opportunities on that side of the world.

A Report Of US Trade In 2020

2020 was the year the world felt the full brunt of the Corona virus. The pandemic hit many countries at different times, shutting down the entire global scale of manufacturing. Starting in November of 2019, no cases had spread until it infected Italy very badly in January and February. Then, the rest of the world followed in the coming months.

This has led to the decline in manufactured trade, quite considerable something that hasn’t happened since the financial crisis of 2008. In addition, in 2020, there was a downward trend of container shipping as most countries put stop orders on all trade-in and around their borders.

With the record-breaking import lows in the 2020, the US imports volume dropped by 200 percent due to the pandemic. This is two to three times lower than the normal average. The lowest it dropped to was 577 USD million in the months of April and March.

According to US import data by country, flights from countries like China, Italy, and India were stopped due to the high infection rates in those countries. This was at the beginning of the calendar year, with the US also imposing a lockdown in New York in March due to the number of cases.

However, as US import data will show, the pandemic changed a lot of things, especially how things were being run. The health sector saw a boom, as did the online service center; this includes online education and even services like zoom and Google meets.
Offices moved to work from home, saving many companies from the overheads that they would have otherwise spent, such as transport and office supplies. The online service sector also saw a major boost which will change the way trade is viewed in 2021.

A Report Of US Trade In 2021

In 2021 the world is still recovering from Covid 19, and so is the pandemic. In fact, the whole world is slowly emerging from a recession that may take years to climb out of slowly; time isn’t the only quantifiable factor lost during the pandemic. The human capital lost during the pandemic will also have a devastating impact on the ability to trade to bounce back.

The US dollar fell by 8% the previous year, something that has never happened before; it will take a while to regain its power. Looking at the US import data by country, some of the habits may also change, which leads to plenty of new opportunities on the international level.

Fortunately, the volume of trade has steadily been increasing in the 2021 with the volume of imports in the US returning to their pre-pandemic highs. In June, trade has reached an all-time high of 280 million USD in imports. This is an opportunity that anyone with access to US trade data by country can take advantage of.

World merchandise will increase by 8% compared to 2020, proving that trade is on its way to improving, and with the vaccine being distributed worldwide, it is unlikely there will be an outbreak as bad as the one in 2020.

Where Do I Fit In?

International trade is accessible to everyone in today's time. It is the best way to find opportunities to expand your business beyond domestic boundaries. The procedures aren’t that complicated, especially with a trade data company like Trademo assisting you from start to finish.

Right from helping you find a buyer to helping you to safely deliver your product, with the help of a global trade data company, you can easily establish yourself in the international markets, especially the US.

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