These charts break down what the US buys from the rest of the world vs. what it sells, using BEA trade data. The purple half of each donut is goods (physical stuff) and the blue half is services. On the import side, the US brings in about $3.3 trillion in goods and $841 billion in services: everything from machinery and cars to phones, pharmaceuticals, and food. On the export side, the US sends out about $2.1 trillion in goods and $1.2 trillion in services, including industrial supplies, aircraft, vehicles, and a lot of business and consulting services.
A few things to note:
* Categories like “air” and “sea” are transport services, not literal air and water. Think airline tickets and cargo shipping provided by foreign vs. US carriers.
* “Other business services” (big slices on both charts) covers things like technical, legal, and professional services that don’t fit cleanly into one industry.
![What does the US import and export? [OC]](https://www.byteseu.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/14mpbcc0r75g1-1024x702.png "What does the US import and export? [OC]")
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Source: [US Bureau of Economic Analysis](https://www.bea.gov/news/2025/us-international-trade-goods-and-services-december-and-annual-2024)
Tools(s): Datawrapper, Illustrator
These charts are pulled from [this report](https://usafacts.org/research-and-initiatives/reports/america-in-facts/) we sent to Congress this year.
These charts break down what the US buys from the rest of the world vs. what it sells, using BEA trade data. The purple half of each donut is goods (physical stuff) and the blue half is services. On the import side, the US brings in about $3.3 trillion in goods and $841 billion in services: everything from machinery and cars to phones, pharmaceuticals, and food. On the export side, the US sends out about $2.1 trillion in goods and $1.2 trillion in services, including industrial supplies, aircraft, vehicles, and a lot of business and consulting services.
A few things to note:
* Categories like “air” and “sea” are transport services, not literal air and water. Think airline tickets and cargo shipping provided by foreign vs. US carriers.
* “Other business services” (big slices on both charts) covers things like technical, legal, and professional services that don’t fit cleanly into one industry.
What makes up other services?
Where is entertainment represented?