- Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) accounts for 21.3% of the United States' (U.S.) total trade in goods – a total of US$ 1,097billion in 2023. Mexico is the top trading partner of the U.S. worldwide, representing about 16% of the U.S. total trade in goods. The second trading partner in the region is Brazil, representing less than 2% of total U.S. trade.
- LAC’s exports of goods to the U.S. in 2023 were US$611 billion, and U.S. exports to the region were US$ 486 billion.
- The trade deficit in goods with the region has widened in the past ten years. After a brief improvement in 2021, the trade deficit in goods with LAC deteriorated in 2023, reaching US$125 billion.
United States trade in goods with Latin America and the Caribbean
(In US billions of dollars, balance in right axis)
Source: ECLAC based on Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
- Trade deficit with Mexico drives the overall widening of the trade deficit in the goods market, reaching US$161 billion in 2023. The U.S. runs a surplus in goods with the rest of the region. U.S. total trade in goods with Mexico is more than double that of the U.S. with the rest of the region.
United States trade in goods with Mexico and Latin America and the Caribbean
(In US billions of dollars)
Source: ECLAC based on Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
- In 2023, 23.8% of total U.S. exports of goods went to Latin America and the Caribbean as compared to only 7.2% that went to China.
- In the same year, 19.7% of U.S. imports of goods came from the region--15.6% come from Mexico alone, compared to 13.8% from China.
- Compared to trade in goods, the U.S. total trade in services with the region represents a smaller fraction of the U.S. total trade in services, accounting for only 11.4%. Mexico is still the region's major trading partner in the services sector, representing 5% of the total U.S. trade in services, followed by Brazil, which is less than 2%.
- The U.S. trade surplus in services with the region has deteriorated progressively for the past ten years. After shrinking due to the COVID–19 pandemic, the U.S. trade surplus in services with Latin America and the Caribbean slightly improved in 2023 relative to the previous year, recording US$24.2 billion.
United States trade in services with Latin America and the Caribbean
(In US billions of dollars, balance in right axis)
Source: ECLAC based on Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
- Unlike the trade deficit in goods, the U.S. has a trade surplus in services with Latin America and the Caribbean. The trade surplus is mostly driven by the U.S. trade surplus with Brazil, which recorded US$18.35 billion in 2023 and has expanded since 2021. On the contrary, the U.S. has run a trade deficit in services with Mexico since 2022 and further deteriorated in 2023, reaching US$0.722 billion.
- In 2023, U.S. trade in digitally enabled services (also known as modern services) accounted for most of the U.S. trade surplus in services with the Latin America and Caribbean region. Despite the prominence of these digitally enabled services, the post-COVID-19 recovery has led to renewed growth and an increased share of other services, such as tourism.
