Delaware is home to some of America’s most important businesses, including DuPont, which drives the state’s chemical manufacturing industry. Exporters like this are growing Delaware’s economy, helping to support more than 120,000 jobs tied to international trade.

• In Delaware, 123,400 jobs were supported by international trade in 2018, representing 20.70% of all jobs in the state.^1,2
• In 2019, 2,315 companies exported goods from Delaware of which 88% were small- and medium-sized enterprises. In 2018, 24,600 people were employed by affiliates of companies at least 50% foreign-owned.^3,4

• Delaware exported $3.9 billion in goods to foreign markets in 2020, an 11% decline compared to 2019 driven by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy.⁵
  • Canada ($619 million)
  • China ($509 million)
  • South Korea ($401 million)
  • Switzerland ($230 million)
  • Germany ($217 million)
• Agricultural exports are important to Delaware's' economy, totaling $262 million in 2019, according to the USDA.⁶
• Since 2014, the U.S. Export-Import Bank has financed $35 million in exports from 9 companies in Delaware.⁷
• Since 1971, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation - which has been modernized into the Development Finance Corporation (DFC) - has invested $778 million in Delaware companies for overseas investment.⁸

• In 2018-2019, 1,429 Delaware students studied abroad.¹⁰
• During 2020, 6,342 international students were enrolled in Delaware colleges and universities and contributed $170 million to the Delaware economy.¹⁰

• Since 1961, 557 Peace Corps volunteers from Delaware have served in dozens of countries overseas.¹¹

1. https://tradepartnership.com/reports/trade-and-american-jobs-the-impact-of-trade-on-u-s-and-state-level-employment-update-2020/
2. https://www.businessroundtable.org/policy-perspectives/trade-international/benefits-of-trade-data
3. https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/Press-Release/edb/2019/index.html
4. https://www.bea.gov/sites/default/files/2020-11/imne1120.pdf
5. https://www.trade.gov/data-visualization/state-economy-and-trade-factsheets
6. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/state-fact-sheets.aspx#.U2ERwbQzqX8
7. https://www.exim.gov/customer-map/
8. https://www.opic.gov/sites/default/files/docs/OPIC_local_impact.pdf
9. https://ustda.gov/ustda-success-by-state/
10. https://opendoorsdata.org/fact_sheets/
11. https://www.peacecorps.gov/news/library/peace-corps-announces-top-volunteer-producing-states-2018/