Imports of United States products from countries with which it has a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) fell more compared to its foreign purchases from nations with which it does not have FTA, according to data from the International Trade Commission (USITC).

First of all, the United States has FTAs ​​with Israel, Israel, Jordan, Chile, Singapore, Morocco, Bahrain, the Dominican Republic and Central America (CAFTA-DR), Oman, Peru, Korea (KORUS), Colombia, Panama and Mexico and Canada (USMCA).

On the one hand, US imports from nations with which it has free trade agreements totaled $ 351.22 billion in 2020, a year-on-year drop of 14.1 percent.

In contrast, the rest of its foreign purchases were for 1 trillion 986,347 million dollars, a decrease of 5.1% per year.

U.S. imports entered under FTA provisions, by FTA partner, annual, 2018–20 (In millions of dollars)

FTA

The year 2020 was marked by the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Above all, according to the USITC, the pandemic left a profound impact on global economic activities, primarily through three channels: supply chain and trade flow disruptions, changes in demand, and government policy responses.

As the pandemic evolved and progressed throughout the year, governments and businesses implemented various restrictive measures to help contain the spread of the virus, such as issuing national lockdowns; close and limit the occupation of schools, offices and factories; and impose travel restrictions.

These measures contributed to significant disruptions in supply chains and global trade flows, leading to a significant reduction in global air and ocean shipments, as well as a shortage of goods, including components and parts.

The pandemic also generated changes in demand.

With travel restrictions and social distancing in place, global demand for certain goods (for example, petroleum products and transportation equipment) and services (for example, transportation and travel services) fell dramatically, while demand Global for other goods, including Covid-19-related medical products (e.g. masks, surgical gowns, pharmaceuticals, hand sanitizer), increased.

To mitigate potential shortages of key supplies, many countries imposed temporary export restrictions and / or import liberalizations for personal protective equipment (PPE), food, and some other products, further disrupting international trade.

Globally, the United States is the largest importer of products, with inbound shipments of $ 2.336.579 billion in 2020, a drop of 6.4% year-on-year.