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State’s Exports Drop 4.2% Amid Decreasing Sales to Asia

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From Bloomberg News

Exports from California, the world’s seventh-largest economy, fell 4.2% in 1998 to $105 billion as sales of products to Asia such as computers and electronic equipment fell more than a fifth, state officials said Monday.

Exports to Asia, totaling $41.3 billion, made up the largest share of total exports, 39.4%, the state said. Still, shipments to every Asian country except China fell for the year.

The lost Asian exports were offset by gains of more than 10% in exports to both Canada and Mexico, reflecting the state’s closer ties with its neighbors following passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement. California exports to Mexico have more than doubled to $13.3 billion in the five years since NAFTA was enacted.

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“Exports to our NAFTA partners were extremely helpful in offsetting the decreases in Asia,” said Lon Hatamiya, the state’s trade and commerce agency secretary.

Exports to Canada were $12.7 billion. The state also reported a 10% increase in exports to Europe, to $23 billion. Exports to China rose 9.3% to $2.5 billion, making it the state’s 11th-largest trading partner.

The $105 billion in exports marked the third consecutive year that California has surpassed $100 billion in exports. Last year, exports totaled $110 billion, the state said.

California is the largest exporting state in the U.S., followed by Texas, Washington, New York and Illinois. Total U.S. exports last year were $680 billion, down 1% from 1997, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Social and Economic Research.

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