American Imports and Exports

In 2013 the United States exported and imported goods worth 3.8 trillion dollars. Approximately 2.7 from these 3.8 trillions refer to imports and exports from and to the European Union (649 billions), Canada (632 billions), China (562 billions), Mexico (500 billions), Japan (200 billions) and South Korea (100 billons).

Map of American Exports and Imports (American Security Project ASP)

http://www.americansecurityproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Trade-MAP.jpg

In 2014, with exports of American arms being at their peak, due to the wars in the Middle East and North Africa, the United States exported 36 billion dollars of arms to the rest of the world. See York Times “U.S. Foreign Arms Deals Increased Nearly $10 Billion in 2014”, December 2015. The 36 billion dollars are peanuts when compared to the American volume of trade with the rest of the world. The United States could export a lot more arms if they wished to, but they prefer to only sell arms to their allies.

As you can read in the 8^th paragraph of the following Time article, in 2013 the United States spent 427 billion dollars for their oil imports. And keep in mind that the due to the new production techniques, that allowed production of oil from shale rock, the United States have overtaken Russia and Saudi Arabia as the largest producer of oil in the world. And still in 2013 the United States paid 427 billion dollars for oil imports.

There is a lot of propaganda for the arms sales. But if you compare the 36 billion dollars that the United States made from their arms exports with the 427 billion dollars that the United States paid for their oil imports you will see what determines international relations.

Articles

“U.S. Foreign Arms Deals Increased Nearly $10 Billion in 2014”, December 2015

1^st and 2^nd Paragraph

Foreign arms sales by the United States jumped by almost $10 billion in 2014, about 35 percent, even as the global weapons market remained flat and competition among suppliers increased, a new congressional study has found.

American weapons receipts rose to $36.2 billion in 2014 from $26.7 billion the year before, bolstered by multibillion-dollar agreements with Qatar,Saudi Arabia and South Korea. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/26/world/middleeast/us-foreign-arms-deals-increased-nearly-10-billion-in-2014.html?_r=0

“Why Are U.S. Oil Imports Falling”, April 2014

8^th Paragraph

Despite increased domestic oil production and lower oil consumption, the US remains the largest importer of oil in the world, and spent $427 billion on imports in 2013.

http://time.com/67163/why-are-u-s-oil-imports-falling/