Tennessee exports a large range of goods and services, from manufactured goods like automobiles and electronics to chemicals and its world-famous whiskey. Tennessee exports about $53 billion worth of these goods and services annually, helping to support over 840,000 jobs in the state. 83% of Tennessee companies that export their products are also small- or medium-sized businesses.

• In Tennessee, 840,000 jobs were supported by trade, representing 20.0% of all jobs in the state.^1,2
• In 2023, 7,081 companies exported goods from Tennessee, of which 83% were small- and medium-sized enterprises. In 2022, 213,000 people were employed by affiliates of companies at least 50% foreign-owned.^3,4

• Tennessee exported $53 billion in goods and services to foreign markets in 2023. ⁵
  • Canada ($10.4 billion)
  • Mexico ($7 billion)
  • China ($3.9 billion)
  • Netherlands ($2.9 billion)
  • Japan ($2.7 billion)
• Agricultural exports are important to Tennessee's economy, totaling $2 billion annually, according to the USDA.⁶
• Since 2014, the U.S. Export-Import Bank has financed $2 billion in exports from 69 companies in Tennessee.⁷
• Since 1992, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency has helped facilitate $24 million in exports from Tennessee companies.⁹

• From 2023-2024, 10,041 international students were enrolled in Tennessee colleges and universities, contributing $370 million to the Tennessee economy.¹⁰

• Since 1961, 2,096 Peace Corps volunteers from Tennessee have served in dozens of countries overseas.¹¹

1. https://www.uschamber.com/international/trade-agreements/trade-means-growth-for-america?state=
2. https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/Press-Release/edb/edbrel2023.pdf
3. https://www.bea.gov/sites/default/files/2024-11/imne-1124.pdf
4. https://www.uschamber.com/international/trade-agreements/trade-means-growth-for-america
5. https://www.trade.gov/data-visualization/state-trade-and-economy-factsheets
6. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/state-agricultural-trade-data
7. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/state-agricultural-trade-data/annual-state-agricultural-exports
8. https://www.exim.gov/customer-map/
9. https://www.mcc.gov/work-with-us/contracts-map
10. https://files.peacecorps.gov/documents/Home_states_of_Peace_Corps_volunteers.pdf
11. https://opendoorsdata.org/fact_sheets/state-fact-sheets/