The U.S. international trade deficit increased in 2021 according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Census Bureau. The deficit increased from $676.7 billion in 2020 to $861.4 billion in 2021, as imports increased more than exports. The goods deficit increased $169.4 billion in 2021 to $1,091.4 billion. The services surplus decreased $15.3 billion in 2021 to $230.0 billion. The goods and services deficit was 3.7 percent of current-dollar gross domestic product in 2021, up from 3.2 percent in 2020.
Exports
Exports of goods and services increased $398.5 billion, or 18.7 percent, in 2021 to $2,533.0 billion. Exports of goods increased $332.9 billion and exports of services increased $65.6 billion.
- The increase in exports of goods reflected increases in industrial supplies and materials ($169.6 billion), in capital goods ($59.3 billion), in consumer goods ($47.3 billion), in foods, feeds, and beverages ($25.9 billion), and in automotive vehicles, parts, and engines ($15.7 billion).
- The increase in exports of services reflected increases in other business services ($23.4 billion) and in financial services ($19.7 billion).
Imports
Imports of goods and services increased $583.2 billion, or 20.7 percent, in 2021 to $3,394.3 billion. Imports of goods increased $502.3 billion and imports of services increased $80.9 billion.
- The increase in imports of goods reflected increases in industrial supplies and materials ($169.9 billion), in consumer goods ($126.8 billion), in capital goods ($117.5 billion), in automotive vehicles, parts, and engines ($36.8 billion), and in foods, feeds, and beverages ($27.8 billion).
- The increase in imports of services reflected increases in transport ($32.4 billion) and in travel ($22.1 billion)
The global COVID-19 pandemic and the economic recovery continued to impact international trade. The full economic effects of the pandemic cannot be quantified in the statistics because the impacts are generally embedded in source data and cannot be separately identified. For more detailed information on trade by type of good or service and with major trading partners, see U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, January 2022.