"In 2007, trade between Russia and the United States continued to develop at a fairly high rate influenced by faster growth in imports from the United States," the ministry said, referring to statistical data released by the Russian Federal Customs Service.
Russia's foreign trade balance with the United States was positive between 2001 and 2006, standing at $215.5 million in 2001, rising to $1 billion in 2002, to $1.246 billion in 2003, peaking at $3.424 billion in 2004, before dropping to $1.760 billion in 2005 and growing to $2.228 billion in 2006, the ministry said.
Russia-U.S. trade grew 17.1%, year-on-year, in 2007 to $17.626 billion, with $8.168 billion worth of Russian exports and $9.457 billion worth of U.S. imports, the ministry said.
Russia's exports to the United States in 2007 were dominated by raw materials, especially oil and petroleum products (28%), and also aluminum (15.4%) and iron and steel (17%), followed by non-organic chemical products (13.9%), precious and semi-precious stones (12.7%), timber and some engineering products.
U.S. imports into Russia in 2007 were dominated by engineering products and transport vehicles (about 65%), including cars and auto components, nuclear reactors, boilers, equipment and mechanical devices. U.S. imports also included large-scale deliveries of instruments and optical, photographic and measuring devices, electrical machines and equipment, aircraft and their parts, the ministry said.
U.S. accrued investment in Russia stood at $8.6 billion as of early 2008 compared with $7.7 billion a year earlier. U.S. direct investment into Russia decreased to $3.6 billion in 2007 compared to $4.6 billion in 2006 while portfolio investment grew to $1.2 billion from $0.5 billion, the ministry said.
