Behind The Sound Bite: Massachusetts & Israel
Gov. Deval Patrick recently returned from a 10-day international trip during which he met with leaders and businesspeople in Israel and the United Kingdom. Patrick’s team tracked his whereabouts on Twitter and issued a number of press releases highlighting the economic relationship between Massachusetts and Israel. Among the facts and figures cited was that Massachusetts companies shipped $180 million in goods to Israel in 2009 and that the United States accounts for 12.3 percent of Israel’s annual imports. On both accounts, Patrick’s numbers were fairly accurate.
What’s the total value of exports from Massachusetts to Israel?
The governor did his homework when it came to our state’s relationship with Israel. But his figures weren’t entirely up to date.
Patrick said that Massachusetts companies sent more than $180 million in goods to Israel during 2009. Companies here exported $181.7 million that year, according to the US Census Bureau. But what is more interesting is that Massachusetts companies did significantly more business with Israel in 2010, when exports to that country jumped by $40 million to $222.2 million, a 22-percent increase.
How big a trade partner is the United States with Israel?
According to the CIA, the United States does indeed represent 12.3 percent or $6.8 billion of Israel’s total imports, valued at $55.6 billion.
Israel’s other top trade partners are China, Germany and Switzerland, which account for 7.4, 7.1 and 6.9 percent of total imports respectively.
Who are Massachusetts’s other key overseas trade partners?
Israel currently ranks 23rd on the list of countries to which Massachusetts companies ship goods. The top countries in Massachusetts’ export portfolio are the United Kingdom, Canada and China. On the import side, China and Mexico top the list for value of goods sent to Massachusetts. Those three countries sent $15.4 billion in goods here in 2010.n
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