International trade

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 483.

Energy, transportation, and telecommunications

The United States is the second largest energy consumer in total use. The U.S. ranks seventh in energy consumption per-capita на душу населения after Canada and a number of other countries. The majority of this energy is derived from fossil ископаемый fuels: in 2005, it was estimated that 40% of the nation's energy came from petroleum, 23% from coal, and 23% from natural gas. Nuclear power supplied 8.4% and renewable energy supplied 6.8%, which was mainly from hydroelectric dams дамбы although other renewables are included.

American dependence on oil imports grew from 24% in 1970 to 65% by the end of 2005. In 2011, the United States imported 3,324 million barrels of crude сырая oil, compared to 3,377 million barrels in 2010. While the U.S. is the largest importer of fuel, the Wall Street Journal reported in 2011 that the country was about to become a net fuel exporter for the first time in 62 years. The paper reported expectations that this would continue until 2020. In fact, petroleum was the major export from the country in 2011.^[150]

Тhe United States is the world's largest trading nation. There is a high amount of U.S. dollars in circulation all around the planet. The dollar is also used as the standard unit of currency in international markets for commodities such as gold and petroleum.

The United States had a $168 billion surplus on trade in services, and $803 billion deficit on trade in goods in 2010. China has expanded its foreign exchange reserves, which included $1.6 trillion of U.S. securities as of 2009. In 2010, the ten largest trading partners of the U.S. were Canada, China, Mexico, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, South Korea, France, Taiwan, and Brazil.