Statistics
Costa Rica vote benefits Miami, Philadelphia, Houston, Los Angeles
October 8th, 2007
A number of Customs district should benefit from Costa Rica’s apparent vote Sunday to join the Central America Free Trade Agreement, but none as much as Miami.
The South Florida Customs district accounted for almost 50 percent of Costa Rica’s trade with the United States in 2006, according to WorldCity analysis of U.S. Census data.
But while Miami almost accounts for a majority of the two-way trade, other Customs districts are seeing their share grow more rapidly.
Miami’s increase in 2006 was 9.9 percent, slower than the U.S. average of 13.7 percent. Growing the fastest were No. 2 Philadelphia, with an increase of 31.5 percent; No. 4 Los Angeles, up 23.9 percent; No. 6 Tampa, 36.6 percent; No. 7 Cleveland, up 158 percent; and No. 11 Savannah, up 38.9 percent.
Leading Costa Rican imports into the United States, which increased 12.6 percent in 2006, were medical instruments, fruits and computer parts
Leading U.S. exports to Costa Rica were led by computer chips, which accounted for almost one-fourth of the total value.
Costa Rica becomes the final Caribbean Basin nation to join DR-CAFTA, following Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.
In addition to the DR-CAFTA nations, the United States has free trade agreements with Canada, Mexico and Chile in the Western Hemisphere.
The U.S. Congress is considering ratification of the Peru free trade agreement, and approval is expected before the end of the year. A similar treaty with Colombia, as well as one with Panama, are less likely to pass Congress.
The United States and 33 nations in the Western Hemisphere spend years trying to pass the Free Trade Area of the Americas, a hemispheric-wide agreement.
In the United States, that effort began with the first President Bush, continued under former President Clinton but fizzled under the current President Bush largely due to lack of progress between the United States and Brazil over agricultural issues.
More information is available in WorldCity’s Americas TradeNumbers publication, which can be purchased on-line. The publication provides an overview of U.S. trade with the 22 nations in the Western Hemisphere with at least $1 billion in annual U.S. trade.
| Rank | Customs District | 2006 Total Trade | Change | Exports | Imports | Surplus/(Deficit) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Districts | $7,976,680,365 | 13.73% | $4,132,405,740 | $3,844,274,625 | $288,131,115 | |
| 1 | Miami | $3,874,907,533 | 9.90% | $2,508,748,362 | $1,366,159,171 | $1,142,589,191 |
| 2 | Philadelphia | $709,279,009 | 31.47% | $146,341,298 | $562,937,711 | ($416,596,413) |
| 3 | Houston | $508,257,870 | 5.16% | $313,806,629 | $194,451,241 | $119,355,388 |
| 4 | Los Angeles | $384,955,762 | 23.87% | $137,497,099 | $247,458,663 | ($109,961,564) |
| 5 | New Orleans | $340,874,799 | -5.24% | $260,556,550 | $80,318,249 | $180,238,301 |
| 6 | Tampa | $307,156,491 | 36.64% | $135,168,377 | $171,988,114 | ($36,819,737) |
| 7 | Cleveland | $232,450,568 | 158.09% | $5,992,152 | $226,458,416 | ($220,466,264) |
| 8 | San Juan, P.R. | $225,437,426 | -0.53% | $21,115,433 | $204,321,993 | ($183,206,560) |
| 9 | New York | $204,219,180 | 17.36% | $102,761,138 | $101,458,042 | $1,303,096 |
| 10 | San Francisco | $141,025,041 | -0.59% | $7,239,872 | $133,785,169 | ($126,545,297) |
| 11 | Savannah | $96,564,103 | 38.89% | $35,214,551 | $61,349,552 | ($26,135,001) |
| 12 | Laredo | $93,451,903 | -6.40% | $19,537,571 | $73,914,332 | ($54,376,761) |
| 13 | Chicago | $86,625,183 | 29.16% | $7,655,717 | $78,969,466 | ($71,313,749) |
| 14 | Mobile | $83,549,889 | 77.97% | $62,652,261 | $20,897,628 | $41,754,633 |
| 15 | Charleston | $75,353,703 | 33.41% | $67,849,013 | $7,504,690 | $60,344,323 |
| 16 | Norfolk | $61,234,587 | 24.52% | $42,669,711 | $18,564,876 | $24,104,835 |
| 17 | El Paso | $58,238,081 | 5.71% | $13,828,430 | $44,409,651 | ($30,581,221) |
| 18 | Baltimore | $53,096,512 | 19.11% | $8,093,447 | $45,003,065 | ($36,909,618) |
| 19 | Dallas | $30,421,267 | 60.30% | $9,040,917 | $21,380,350 | ($12,339,433) |
| 20 | San Diego | $28,234,735 | 23.33% | $58,416 | $28,176,319 | ($28,117,903) |
| 21 | Nogales, Ariz. | $26,465,816 | 630.91% | $19,784,570 | $6,681,246 | $13,103,324 |
| 22 | Boston | $24,164,150 | 51.37% | $2,343,459 | $21,820,691 | ($19,477,232) |
| 23 | Wilmington | $20,435,938 | -80.81% | $7,766,311 | $12,669,627 | ($4,903,316) |
| 24 | Port Arthur, Texas | $20,380,470 | 101.89% | $17,595,569 | $2,784,901 | $14,810,668 |
| 25 | Seattle | $20,277,953 | -56.38% | $7,163,005 | $13,114,948 | ($5,951,943) |
| 26 | St. Louis | $16,092,397 | 50.68% | $9,525 | $16,082,872 | ($16,073,347) |
| 27 | Anchorage | $10,911,657 | 94.07% | $483,210 | $10,428,447 | ($9,945,237) |
| 28 | Columbia-Snake | $8,139,048 | -42.43% | $6,417,630 | $1,721,418 | $4,696,212 |
| 29 | Detroit | $5,610,833 | 115.80% | $497,053 | $5,113,780 | ($4,616,727) |
| 30 | Minneapolis | $5,184,549 | -36.88% | $236,467 | $4,948,082 | ($4,711,615) |
| 31 | Portland, Maine | $2,967,783 | 6427.91% | $31,221 | $2,936,562 | ($2,905,341) |
| 32 | Buffalo | $2,739,138 | 16.30% | $164,658 | $2,574,480 | ($2,409,822) |
| 33 | Great Falls, Mont. | $1,745,737 | 53.45% | $86,450 | $1,659,287 | ($1,572,837) |
| 34 | Honolulu | $978,447 | 20.78% | $67,082 | $911,365 | ($844,283) |
| 35 | Milwaukee | $943,566 | 450.04% | $877,427 | $66,139 | $811,288 |
| 36 | U.S. Virgin Islands | $742,549 | 214.46% | $65,167 | $677,382 | ($612,215) |
| 37 | Ogdensburg, N.Y. | $566,307 | 221.74% | $- | $566,307 | ($566,307) |
| 38 | Washington, D.C. | $362,698 | 75.00% | $362,698 | $- | $362,698 |
| 39 | Pembina, N.D. | $163,015 | 47.24% | $21,160 | $141,855 | ($120,695) |
| 40 | Duluth Minn. | $73,000 | #DIV/0! | $73,000 | $- | $73,000 |
| 41 | Norfolk/Mobile/Charleston | $27,520 | -74.28% | $27,520 | $27,520 | |
| 42 | St. Albans, VT. | $18,552 | -74.85% | $8,765 | $9,787 | ($1,022) |
| Rank | 2006 Total | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total, All Commodities | $3,844,274,625 | 12.56% | |
| 1 | Medical instruments for surgeons, dentists, vets | $529,935,612 | 10.28% |
| 2 | Dates, figs, pineapples and other fruit | $391,665,745 | 88.86% |
| 3 | Computer parts | $333,469,903 | 33.90% |
| 4 | Bananas and plantains, fresh or dried | $281,572,892 | 20.16% |
| 5 | Electronic integrated circuits | $237,559,604 | -27.38% |
| 6 | Coffee | $136,953,417 | -11.46% |
| 7 | Imports of returned exports | $124,904,234 | 5.44% |
| 8 | Women's or girls' slips | $103,474,426 | -1.79% |
| 9 | Men's or boys' suits, not knit | $90,955,761 | -13.61% |
| 10 | Electrical resistors, except heating resistors | $90,611,997 | 80.16% |
| Rank | 2006 Total | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total, All Commodities | $4,132,405,740 | 14.83% | |
| 1 | Electronic integrated circuits | $1,009,402,073 | 19.42% |
| 2 | Low value shipments | $162,035,968 | |
| 3 | Computer parts | $156,143,497 | 54.49% |
| 4 | Uncoated kraft paper, paperboard | $129,172,547 | 88.84% |
| 5 | Medical instruments for surgeons, dentists, vets | $96,782,007 | 35.37% |
| 6 | Medical technology | $90,852,408 | 8.83% |
| 7 | Polymers of ethylene | $78,519,097 | 16.02% |
| 8 | Corn | $77,758,666 | 10.98% |
| 9 | Computers | $71,485,042 | 26.29% |
| 10 | Oil, not crude | $67,899,355 | -41.63% |
Peru FTA next in line after Costa Rica vote (10/09/2007)
Costa Rica vote benefits Miami, Philadelphia, Houston, Los Angeles (10/08/2007)
5th annual Americas TradeNumbers published (07/10/2007)