Foreign Trade in Chemicals

Country GDP (billions) Export (billions) Exports as percentage of GDP 

Source Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook, 1997. 

In comparison with the chemical trade of other nations, the United States accounted for 14.1% of the dollar value of world exports of chemicals in 1995 only Gennany exports more chemicals (measured in dollar value) than the United States, or about 16.1% of the world exports, as shown in Table 9.5. Canada represents the largest single market for U.S. chemical exports, followed by Japan. U.S. chemical exports to Mexico, the third largest export market, has grown 280% in the 10 years from 1986 to 1996. Canada is the largest exporter of chemicals to the United States about 8.2 billion in 1996. 

With respect to imports, Germany imports a greater dollar volume than the United States. The dollar value of the U.S. chemical trade with specific countries is presented in Table 9.6. In 1995 the chemical balance of trade with Australia, Latin America, Africa, and Asia (with the exception of Japan and China) was greater than 4 1. With the more highly industrialized nations, like Canada, the 

trade of specific product groups is shown in Table 9.7. Four categories, namely, organic chemicals, medicinals and pharmaceuticals, inorganic chemicals, and plastics, account for 69% of the U.S. imports. Organic chemicals, plastics, pharmaceuticals and medicinals, and inorganic chemicals accounted for about 55% of the U.S. chemical exports in 1995. 

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Foreign trade in chemicals is influenced greatly by trade tariffs. A tariff is a charge imposed by a government on imports and occasionally on exports. Free-market economists strongly oppose tariffs, but they are a fact of life and are imposed for the following reasons ... 

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