Record Arizona exports

Arizona exports reached a record $19.2 billion in 2007, an increase of 5 percent from 2006. Mexico and Canada were Arizona’s primary 2007 export partners, with China becoming the state’s third-largest export market. The state sent $1.6 billion in goods and materials produced in Arizona to China last year.  The U.S. has a massive trade deficit with China, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. China sent $322 billion worth of goods and materials to the U.S. in 2007, but received only $65 billion worth from the U.S.

Arizona’s top export products were computers and electronic equipment, though the sector saw a 1 percent drop from 2006 to 2007. Waste and scrap paper, which increasingly is shipped from the U.S. to China and other markets to be recycled into new products, saw a big jump. Total Arizona exports of waste paper increased from $79 million in 2005 to $406 million in 2007, according to the trade numbers.

Arizona exports to Mexico dropped slightly from $5.4 billion in 2006 to $5.2 billion in 2007, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. The state’s exports to the U.K., Germany, Taiwan, Greece, South Korea and Iraq saw increases in 2007, while Switzerland, Malaysia and the Philippines saw a drop in exports. For more: http://tse.export.gov.