CHICAGO – In 2017, US Imports from the 14 largest trading partners in Asia rose $55 billion, or 8%, to reach a record high, according to an A.T. Kearney report.

From 2013 to 2017, US manufacturing growth was up 1%, or $81 billion, against the combined 19% increase of $118 billion in imports from those 14 Asian markets.

China remains the largest Asian importer to the states in monetary terms, accounting for $494 billion of last year’s $751 billion total, or about two thirds.

These 14 Asian countries include China, Taiwan, Malaysia, India, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia.

According to the report, “the combination of an overstimulated economy and a jobless rate that is the lowest it has been in more than a decade will likely result in even more imports when domestic manufacturing can’t keep up with growing consumer demand.”

The report concludes, “Even though 2017 and the roaring first half of 2018 are providing optimism for the US manufacturing sector, it will take more than political headlines to effect any meaningful and lasting change. As a result, any tariffs put on imports from those low-cost countries will, in the short run, only be felt in American consumers’ wallets.”

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