U.S. Chemicals Trade By the Numbers
As the U.S. chemical industry expands due to increased supplies of shale gas, chemical manufacturers increasingly depend on duty-free trade and access to new export markets in order to strengthen our position as a leading, low-cost supplier of chemicals.
- Total U.S. exports were $125 billion in 2020, accounting for 9.2% of all U.S. goods exports and 10% of all global chemicals exports.
- Of the
529,000 Americans employed by chemistry, more than 25% are in export-dependent jobs.
- 48% of all U.S. chemical exports and 54% of all U.S. chemical imports are between companies and their subsidiaries in 2019.
- Texas is the top chemicals exporting state with 30% of U.S. chemical exports coming from Texas
- American
shale gas has attracted $209 billion in announced U.S. chemical industry investment, much of which is directed toward U.S. export markets.
- The U.S. had a large
trade surplus of $25 billion in industrial chemicals in 2020.
- The three largest national markets for
U.S. chemical exports in 2020 were Mexico ($19 billion) and Canada ($21 billion).
