5.3. Agriculture

Agriculture is a major industry in the U.S. and the country is a net exporter of food. The U.S. controls almost half of world grain export. Products include wheat, corn, other grains (are all grown in great quantities in 12 mid-western states), fruits, vegetables, cotton; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; forest products; fish (Sitka in Alaska is a fishing town). More than 80 % of timber production is made up of softwoods (the principal trees are Douglas fir and southern yellow pine) and the remainder of hardwoods (oak).

Farming is highly mechanized and commercialized but at the same time it requires much investment. U.S. farmers produce enough food for domestic consumption and still supply 15 % of the world’s food need.

Large fruits and vegetables are grown in Palmer (Alaska) in short summers because of 20 hours of day light. Hawaii’s agricultural products include sugar, pineapple, pineapple wine, coffee, and macadamia nuts.

However, high efficiency and productivity of American agriculture has its negative side. On one hand farming has become too productive to be profitable to many American farmers. Low crop prices, which have resulted from overproduction, often do not bring farmers enough income to live on. Another difficulty is the decline of agricultural exports. The share of the U.S. crops on the world’s market is shrinking while the shares of the European community expand.

Answer the questions:

1. What products are exported by the U.S.?

2. What are grown in Alaska and Hawaii?

3. What advantages and disadvantages are there in American agriculture?

5.4. Foreign Trade and Global Economic Influence

The U.S. is the world’s largest trading nation; it is the largest importer and exporter. Besides agricultural products the most part of the U.S. export occupy machinery, automotive products, aircraft and chemicals. The leading U.S. imports are petroleum products, food and beverages, machinery, iron and steel products.

The economy of America depends heavily on foreign imports. Until recently the U.S. exported more goods than it imported. The present situation is the declining competitiveness of American goods in the world market due to poor quality.

It should be specially noted that the U.S. economy depends on the world-wide oil prices. If they are at a low-rate American economy prospers, otherwise it is in decline. This phenomenon can seem the reason for the economic crisis of the USA nowadays. That’s why America has to control the oil field in Iraq which will give it an opportunity to control also over the world one.

Since the U.S. is the world’s leading importer, there are many U.S. dollars in circulation all round the planet. The dollar is used as the standard unit of currency in international markets such as gold and petroleum (which is called petrocurrency, or petrodollar). Large foreign economies such as China, Arab states of the Persian Gulf, and the EU own huge dollar reserves, China’s reserves are more than $2 trillion, the world’s largest.

The U.S. is the world’s largest and most influential financial market, home to major stock and commodities exchanges like NASDAQ, NYSE, AMEX, and CME. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is the largest stock exchange in the world by value of its listed companies’ securities. NASDAQ is another American stock exchange; it has more trading volume per hour than any other stock exchange in the world.

During a decade the USA was taking part in so called trade wars. A trade war is the usage of export and import towards the pressure on the trade partner. One country considers the other one to buy not enough its production and demands for more. Otherwise it promises to limit the import from this country. At the end of 90-s the USA took part in several trade wars at one time: the meat war, the banana war, the grain war, the tax war.

Answer the questions:

1. What does the U.S. export and import?

2. What does the U.S. economy depend on?

3. What major U.S. stock and commodities exchanges do you know?

4. What is the essence of a trade work?