The mix of geopolitics and technology has intensified the focus on US manufacturing. The United States imports $3 trillion in manufactured goods annually, and about 25 percent are exposed to some combination of criticality to national security, supply concentration, and geopolitical distance from trade partners. Electronics is the largest and most vulnerable sector, according to McKinsey’s Rebecca J. Anderson, Jeffrey Condon, Olivia White, Eric Kutcher, Shubham Singhal, Mike Conway, Anu Madgavkar, and Camillo Lamanna. Nearly one-third of US imports—or $900 billion—are electronics, and 50 percent of those products are exposed, with 15 percent of the total facing all three dependencies. Less exposed sectors include transportation equipment, food and beverages, and wood and paper. Because US manufacturing comprises a diverse set of companies, industries, and sectors with different trade dependencies, reducing these vulnerabilities will necessitate a tailored approach.
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US manufactured-goods imports in 2025 totaled about $2.5 trillion, with electronics representing the largest import sector at approximately $900 billion and the highest level of trade dependency. The chart compares import values across sectors and shows the share of imports associated with one, two, or three trade dependencies, defined as products that are critical, sourced from concentrated suppliers, and/or imported from geopolitically distant countries. Transportation equipment ($450 billion) and chemicals ($410 billion) are the next-largest import sectors, followed by metals ($300 billion), machinery ($230 billion), furniture and miscellaneous goods ($170 billion), textiles and apparel ($150 billion), food and beverages ($150 billion), plastics and rubber ($70 billion), petroleum and coal ($60 billion), wood and paper ($50 billion), and nonmetallic minerals ($30 billion). The exhibit’s main message is that electronics is both the largest US import category and the most exposed to potential supply-chain vulnerabilities.
Source: US International Trade Commission; McKinsey Global Institute analysis
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