Where Did Your Headphones Come From?

Laptops and cell phones from China. Cars from Canada and Germany. Furniture and fruit from Mexico. You likely use or rely on items every day that have been made in other countries and shipped to the United States. But did you ever wonder why they’re made elsewhere and how exactly they get into your hands?

The U.S. imports more goods than any other country in the world, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In 2024, we bought $3.3 trillion worth of products from other nations, the highest amount ever recorded.

Some items, like clothing, appliances, and plastic toys, are generally cheaper to buy from foreign countries. That’s because materials and labor tend to cost less in those places than they do in the U.S. Other items, like cocoa beans for chocolate, are only found in limited quantities domestically.

The U.S. can buy all these products because it has the biggest economy of any country. “That’s like being the richest person in the neighborhood,” says Stephen Day. He’s an economist at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Not everything the U.S. imports is ready for stores when it gets here. Many goods are components that U.S. manufacturers use to create other products. For example, a U.S. car company might import steel from Canada and tires from Brazil.

Americans also sell goods and services to countries such as Canada, Mexico, and South Korea. The U.S. is the world’s second-biggest manufacturer and exporter, after China.

The movement of imports and exports connects nations, Day says. “The more we trade, the more interdependent we become,” he explains. “Countries specialize in what they do best and trade for the rest.”

So what exactly are we buying—and from where? Take a closer look at the top five sources of U.S. imports last year.

In 2023 and 2024, the U.S. imported more goods and services from Mexico than from any other country—including about half of the fruits and vegetables Americans eat. Those sales represented about 80 percent of all goods and services exported by Mexico in those years. 

Amount Imported by the U.S.: $505.9 billion
Top Products: Vehicles, machinery, electrical and electronic equipment 
Share of Total U.S. Imports: 15.5%
It Goes Both Ways: More than 40 percent of Mexico’s imports come from the U.S.

China is the top manufacturer of goods in the world and the second-biggest source of U.S. imports. It’s also the main source of imports for dozens of countries. 

Amount Imported by the U.S.: $438.9 billion
Top Products: Electrical and electronic equipment, machinery, toys and sporting goods
Share of Total U.S. Imports: 13.4%
It Goes Both Ways: The U.S. supplied about 7 percent of China’s imports in 2023.

Canada is America’s third-largest trading partner and the biggest supplier of U.S. energy imports, such as crude oil, natural gas, and electricity. It also provides nearly half of the lumber that the U.S. imports. 

Amount Imported by the U.S.: $412.7 billion
Top Products: Mineral fuels and oils, vehicles, machinery
Share of Total U.S. Imports: 12.6%
It Goes Both Ways: Canada got about half of its imports from the U.S. in 2023, including many of its cars and trucks.

Germany exports more of its goods, such as cars and shoes, to the U.S. than to any other country. However, Germany relies more heavily on China for its imports. 

Amount Imported by the U.S.: $160.4 billion
Top Products: Vehicles, machinery, pharmaceutical products 
Share of Total U.S. Imports: 4.9%
It Goes Both Ways: Germany received about 7 percent of its imports from the U.S. in 2023. 

Japan is the fifth-largest source of imports to the U.S. It specializes in steel that is used in industries from electronics to construction. In 2023, about 130 countries around the world imported steel from Japan. 

Amount Imported by the U.S.: $148.2 billion 
Top Products: Vehicles, machinery, electrical and electronic equipment
Share of Total U.S. Imports: 4.5%
It Goes Both Ways: The U.S. is one of Japan’s top trade partners, shipping about 12 percent of Japan’s imports last year.