With the trade war going on between the US and the rest of the world going on, it can be easy to lose perspective and believe that the most expensive items are the most imported ones. Many believe that cars and tech are the sole imports that will make the situation untenable in the long term, but in reality, each state is different and the items that they import have more to do with their lifestyle than a generic belief.
That is not to say that cars and technology are not some of the biggest imports overall, but it is not the only things Americans need to be concerned about when it comes to the new tariffs being implemented.
What Every U.S. State Imports the Most
| State | Highest value import | Import value | State | Highest value import | Import value | |
| Alabama | Cars & Auto Parts |
$13.9B | Montana | Energy | $5.1B | |
| Alaska | Energy | $1.5B | Nebraska | Chemicals & Medicines |
$1.3B | |
| Arizona | Computers & Electronics |
$10.6B | Nevada | Computers & Electronics |
$6.5B | |
| Arkansas | Cars & Auto Parts |
$1.6B | New Hampshire | Cars & Auto Parts |
$3.4B | |
| California | Computers & Electronics |
$152.6B | New Jersey | Chemicals & Medicines |
$23.4B | |
| Colorado | Energy | $3.3B | New Mexico | Computers & Electronics |
$4.3B | |
| Connecticut | Cars & Auto Parts |
$4.1B | New York | Other | $29.2B | |
| Delaware | Energy | $3.3B | North Carolina | Chemicals & Medicines |
$28.3B | |
| Florida | Cars & Auto Parts |
$20.9B | North Dakota | Industrial Machinery |
$1.1B | |
| Georgia | Cars & Auto Parts |
$27.8B | Ohio | Chemicals & Medicines |
$13.9B | |
| Hawaii | Energy | $632M | Oklahoma | Energy | $7.1B | |
| Idaho | Computers & Electronics |
$5.7B | Oregon | Computers & Electronics |
$9.2B | |
| Illinois | Computers & Electronics |
$52.8B | Pennsylvania | Chemicals & Medicines |
$40.9B | |
| Indiana | Chemicals & Medicines |
$49.3B | Rhode Island | Chemicals & Medicines |
$4.9B | |
| Iowa | Industrial Machinery |
$3.2B | South Carolina | Chemicals & Medicines |
$9.6B | |
| Kansas | Industrial Machinery |
$4.0B | South Dakota | Industrial Machinery |
$356M | |
| Kentucky | Chemicals & Medicines |
$35.6B | Tennessee | Chemicals & Medicines |
$33.5B | |
| Louisiana | Raw Metals | $5.3B | Texas | Computers & Electronics |
$96.5B | |
| Maine | Energy | $2.7B | Utah | Raw Metals | $5.6B | |
| Maryland | Cars & Auto Parts |
$16.1B | Vermont | Processed Food & Beverages |
$686M | |
| Massachusetts | Computers & Electronics |
$6.3B | Virginia | Cars & Auto Parts |
$5.8B | |
| Michigan | Cars & Auto Parts |
$107.8B | Washington | Cars & Auto Parts |
$11.8B | |
| Minnesota | Energy | $9.2B | West Virginia | Cars & Auto Parts |
$1.5B | |
| Mississippi | Industrial Machinery |
$2.8B | Wisconsin | Industrial Machinery |
$7.3B | |
| Missouri | Cars & Auto Parts |
$4.3B | Wyoming | Processed Food & Beverages |
$213M |
By looking at the table you can see that cars and auto equipment are the highest value import in 14 states, which might be a lot, but that still leaves 36 other states that have other economic interests. As an interesting perspective, the cars and auto equipment category includes fully finished cars, as well as those half-assembled cars, auto parts, and airplane parts, and the biggest importer of all these is famed automaker state Michigan.
To no one’s surprise, the second biggest category of imports was computers and electronics, which 9 states have as their top imports, closely followed by chemicals and medicine, which another ten states bring from abroad in large quantities.
Since the countries that produce these three categories are some of the most affected by the tariffs (with the exception of pharmaceuticals, which have no tariffs), many are wondering how the country will manage to keep prices from creeping up to unsustainable levels while still maintaining Trumps’ position abroad. There have already been many concessions given (Apple has gotten an exemption on their products regardless of the Chinese tariffs) but many are concerned about the increases and how they will affect every single industry.
For now, the general 10% tariff on imports and the more than 125% tariff on most Chinese goods are enough to send the country into a frenzy, so if the tariffs begin to affect Energy, which is the top import for eight states, many will start seriously worrying, especially as winter approaches in some of the colder areas.