State exports helped by “summer surge”

California exported nearly $16 billion worth of goods in July, a 6.4 percent year-over-year increase, according to data published recently.

At the same time, U.S. exports rose by 3.7 percent, to $175.1 billion, raising California’s share of the national export trade two percentage points, to 9.1 percent, the U.S. Census Bureau’s Foreign Trade Division reported.

Exports of California’s manufactured products in July rose to $9.8 billion from $9.3 billion, a 6.3 percent increase year-over-year.

The state’s shipments of non-manufactured goods jumped by 15.4 percent, to $1.9 billion.  Re-exports totaled $3.9 billion, an increase of 2.7 percent compared with July 2024.

Much of that good news can be attributed to one source, one local economist said.

“Tariffs, or tariff threats, propelled a summer surge in shipments of computer and electronics equipment from California to Taiwan,” said Jock O’Connell, an international trade advisor with Beacon Economics in Los Angeles. “Otherwise, (California’s) export scene was largely recorded in red ink.”

During the first seven months of 2025, California’s exports totaled $109.4 billion, a 5.2 percent year-over-year increase, according to the trade division.