billion and imports rising 61.1% to $505.9 billion. Canada was second with total trade of $762.1 billion in 2024, an increase of 30.9% from 2017. Exports rose 23.7% to $349.4 billion while imports increased 37.6% to $412.7 billion. Total trade with China decreased 8.4% from 2017 to $582.5 billion in 2024. The decline in trade was caused by a drop of 13.2% in imports from China since 2017 to $438.9 billion in 2024, while exports increased 10.0% to $143.5 billion. The table below shows the top three trading partners for Wisconsin in 2024. Mirroring trends in U.S. international trade, exports and imports have become increasingly important for Wisconsin. In 2024, Wisconsin had exports of $27.5 billion, an increase of over 23% from $22.3 billion in 2017. Wisconsin imports were $38.9 billion in 2024, rising approximately 40% from $27.7 billion in 2017. Canada is Wisconsin’s top trading partner, and Wisconsin is a net exporter to Canada. Collectively, Canada, Mexico, and China accounted for nearly 49% of total trade, 48% of imports, and 50% of exports.
Wisconsin Top Trading Partners 2024 (all merchandise, millions of dollars) (Source: International Trade Administration) Exports Imports
Total Trade
Total
$27,514
$38,859
$66,373 14,192 10,293
Canada Mexico
7,941 4,358 1,555
6,251 5,935 6,417
China
7,972
Manufacturing The globalization of international trade generally began ramping up significantly in the 1980s. Increases in both exports and imports consistently occurred; exceptions, however, did occur during global economic downturns. Increasing globalization generally led to a shift in manufacturing, from relatively high labor cost countries to relatively low labor cost countries. Tariffs have been implemented with at least a partial objective of boosting U.S. manufacturing employment by returning jobs to the U.S. The chart below shows the long-term trends in U.S. manufacturing employment since 1939. Manufacturing employment is indicated by the blue line (left-axis); manufacturing employment as a percentage of total employment is indicated by the red line (right axis). U.S. Manufacturing Employment (in thousands) and Manufacturing Employment as Percentage of Total Employment January 1939 – December 2024 (Source: Federal Reserve FRED Database; Bureau of Labor Statistics)
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Center for Business and Economic Insight
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