Trading Partner Portal: France
Trade Overview
According to the World Bank, France is a high-income developed country in Europe. It has a population of 68.72 million people with a corresponding GDP of $3.37 trillion. It is the most visited country in the world, with 107.1 million tourists in 2020. France is a member of the European Union (EU). The EU and U.S. trade relationship is the largest in the world. The European Union is the largest merchandise and service trading partner of the United States, and they have succeeded with healthy flows of foreign direct investment both ways. France has a diverse economy with various sectors. The government has successfully privatized numerous companies in a variety of markets, such as telecommunication and Air France. World Bank
U.S. – France Trade
France is the 12th largest export destination of goods for the United States. In 2025, two-way goods trade between the two countries was $118.64 billion, with the United States exporting around $50.57 billion worth of products to France. The main exports were transportation equipment ($15.82 billion), oil and gas ($7.91 billion), chemicals ($5.53 billion), primary metals manufactures ($3.69 billion), and computer/electronic products ($3.36 billion).
The United States imported approximately $68.07 billion worth of goods in 2025, with chemicals as the top import into the U.S. from France, totaling $19.93 billion. This was followed by transportation equipment ($10.99 billion), goods returned ($4.70 billion), used or second-hand merchandise ($4.68 billion), and non-electrical machinery ($4.22 billion).
Services trade between France and the U.S. totaled just over $62 billion, with service exports from the United States to France at $29.52 billion. Top exports were other business services, travel, transport services, financial services, telecommunications, computer, & information services.
Imported services from France to the U.S. totaled $32.49 billion, with top imports being transport services, travel, other business services, financial services, and charges for intellectual property use.
France – California Trade
California is one of the top exporting states to France with a total of $299 billion worth of goods being exported to France in 2025. The main export categories included computer and electronic products ($598 million), chemicals ($470 million), transportation equipment ($460 million), fabricated metals manufactures ($249 million), and electrical equipment, appliances & components ($201 million).
California imported $3.91 billion worth of goods from France in this same year. California’s #1 import from France was beverages and tobacco products totaling $702 million in 2025. Other key imports were computer and electronic products ($614 million), transportation equipment ($365 million), goods returned ($297 million), and leather & allied products ($225 million). U.S. Department of Commerce
FDI – France
France and the United States also have a strong foreign direct investment (FDI) relationship. In 2025, the U.S. had approximately $124.84 billion dollars of FDI flow into France. On the other hand, France had a little over $408.57 billion worth of FDI in the United States. BEA
France was the 5th largest source of FDI in the U.S., which supported 753,300 jobs. $6.7 billion went to investing in research and development and another $19.9 billion went to expanding U.S. exports. The top industry sectors for French FDI in the US were: software and IT services, business services, energy, industrial equipment, electronic components, and chemicals. Select USA
In California, the fourth largest source of FDI through foreign-owned enterprises (FOEs) is France. In 2025, French FOEs provided over 94,654 jobs through 1,954 firms amounting to almost $8.98 billion in wages. The top jobs by sector are manufacturing, professional/business services, leisure/hospitality, retail trade, and wholesale trade (World Trade Center Los Angeles FDI Report).
More Articles:
Interview Series Featuring California’s Key Trading Partners – Featuring Consuls General of France Julie Duhaut-Bedos in Los Angeles
and Frederic Jung in San Francisco – Economic Diversity, Foreign Investment Ties Inspire Long-Lasting Partnership in Trade
CalChamber, December 8, 2020
CalChamber Resources
- Consulate General in California
- French Embassy in the U.S.
- International Trade FAQs
- GO-Biz Stats: French FDI in CA
Business
- American Chamber of Commerce in France
- French American Chamber of Commerce
- Doing Business in France
- IBG Global – Lily Perf