Fourth of July is flag-waving time of year, but in addition to showing patriotism, American flags provide a nice little boost to the economy.
Overall, the country spent $302.7 million on fabricated flags, banners and similar emblems made by U.S. manufacturers in 2007 (the most recent date available), according to the 2007 Economic Census. Presumably, it is even more now.
And, believe it or not, there’s a lot of foreign trade involving American flags. Census statistics on foreign trade last year showed the U.S. imported $3.6 million worth of flags. And most of that ($3.3 million) came from … China.
The U.S. also exports nearly $664,000 worth of American flags. Biggest customer? Mexico ($80,349).
Another big economic booster over the holiday is fireworks.
The U.S. imported $223.4 million worth of fireworks from China last year. Exports were a fraction of that ($15.8 million). The biggest buyer of U.S. fireworks? Australia ($4.5 million)
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