Mexico Is Now the Largest U.S. Trading Partner — and the Numbers Are Staggering
Mexico surpassed Canada as the top U.S. trading partner in goods and services in 2024, and held that position through 2025 with $976.1 billion in total bilateral trade. That figure — approaching a trillion dollars — reflects a relationship that has been decades in the making and is now deeply wired into the structure of both economies.
In goods alone, total U.S.-Mexico trade reached $872.8 billion in 2025, with the United States importing $534.8 billion from Mexico and exporting $337.9 billion in return. The resulting goods deficit of $171.5 billion is large in absolute terms, though still well below the $295.5 billion deficit the U.S. runs with China.
The composition of that trade tells the real story. U.S. imports from Mexico are dominated by computer equipment ($90.8 billion), motor vehicles ($84.4 billion), and motor vehicle parts ($67.3 billion) — a profile shaped by decades of integrated North American manufacturing. On the export side, the United States sends computer equipment, petroleum and coal products, motor vehicle parts, and semiconductors south across the border.
From Mexico’s perspective, the dependency is even more pronounced. About 80% of Mexican exports are destined for the U.S. market, and the United States accounts for 60% of Mexico’s total goods trade. No other bilateral trade relationship on the continent comes close.
Since NAFTA entered into force in 1994, U.S. imports from Mexico have grown by 170% (measured from 2006 baseline data), while exports to Mexico rose 150% over the same period. The trade balance, which showed a modest U.S. surplus of $1.7 billion in 1993, has inverted sharply — a structural shift driven by the offshoring of manufacturing and the build-out of cross-border supply chains that now define North American industry.