The U.S. States Most Vulnerable to a Trade War

Last year, nearly $4 trillion of U.S. economic productivity was the result of international trade.

However, with talk of a trade war heating up, there is a real possibility that the global trade landscape could shift dramatically over the coming months and years.

Any such shifts wouldn’t likely impact the country in a uniform and evenly distributed fashion – instead, any impending trade war would pose the largest direct risk to states that are dependent on buying and selling goods on international markets.

The States at the Most Risk

Today’s visualization comes to us from HowMuch.net, and it shows every U.S. state and district organized by GDP size, as well as percentage of GDP resulting from international trade.

Here are the 10 states most reliant on international trade:

On a percentage basis, Michigan tops the list with 38.9% of the state’s GDP reliant on international trade.

The Lowest Risk States

On the flipside, here are the states or districts with less to lose in the event of a trade war.

This makes sense since The District’s economy is mostly linked to the government, service, and tourism sectors. Nearby Virginia also has surprisingly little international trade, at just 8.9% of its economy.Washington, D.C. tops the list, with only 1.5% of its regional GDP tied to trade.

Want to see more on international trade? See the numbers behind the world’s closest trade relationship in this infographic.