By Andrew Williams
U.S. economy got a boost last year as the trade rebounded strongly and the fast-growing emerging markets, led by China, became good markets for American products and they also became a vital export market for the US. The Commerce Department yesterday said in a statement that the exports grew by almost 17% to $1.8 trillion last year. The jump in oil prices helped imports jump nearly 20%, which brought down the annual trade deficit to almost $498 billion.

There is no denying the fact that the developed economies are now growing slowly and U.S. companies know that they need to sell their products in other foreign markets in order to earn revenue. The situation also forced the US companies to do business with competitors. The Obama administration is planning to double U.S. exports by 2014.

According to the 2010 data released by the Commerce Department, China is still the top source of imports into the U.S. Canada, Japan and Mexico are also major market for American imports. It is to be noted that China was once dependent on the American companies for computers but they now exports semiconductors, civilian aircraft and parts, and complex industrial machinery and other materials.