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  • U.S. exports decreased by 0.5 percent annually to $103.4 billion in 2015
  • U.S. imports decreased by 0.7 percent annually to $31.5 billion in 2015

U.S. exports of charges for the use of intellectual property fell by $2.1 billion during 2011–15, while U.S. imports decreased by only $0.9 billion during the same period. The United States reported a trade surplus in charges for the use of intellectual property of $71.8 billion in 2015, down from $73.0 billion in 2011, as exports fell and imports grew in key markets such as Japan. The European Union (EU) has consistently been the United States’ leading export and import market for charges for the use of intellectual property, while Japan and Switzerland rank in the top three for both imports and exports. For more information on U.S. trade in services, see chapter 1 of Recent Trends in U.S. Services Trade: 2017 Annual Report.