Chinese Imports to the US

Newspaper headlines are dominated these days about the rise of China as a global economic source.  Frequently, Chinese imports are blamed for joblessness in the US.  But how much of today's unemployment picture relates to Chinese imports?  How much do we really buy from China?  The San Francisco Federal Reserve Board's web site includes the results of a recent study concerning the percentage of goods and services sold in the US that are sourced from China.  The authors, Galina Hale and Bart Hobjin, conclude the following:

Of the 2.7% of U.S. consumer purchases going to goods labeled “Made in China,” only 1.2% actually represents China-produced content. If we take into account imported intermediate goods, about 13.9% of U.S. consumer spending is attributable to imports, including 1.9% imported from China.

Since the share of PCE [personal consumption expenditures] attributable to imports from China is less than 2% and some of this can be traced to production in other countries, it is unlikely that recent increases in labor costs and inflation in China will generate broad-based inflationary pressures in the United States. 

The entire article may be read at the following link:

http://www.frbsf.org/publications/economics/letter/2011/el2011-25.html?utm_source=home