WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is threatening to rip up trade agreements and slap taxes on Chinese and Mexican goods, raising the risk of a trade war.
Which American communities would have the most to lose? The Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy Program ranked U.S. metro areas by their exports as a percentage of their local gross domestic product — the broadest measure of economic output.
Columbus, Indiana, home of engine maker Cummins Inc., ranks No. 1.
The numbers don't show which communities are most exposed to trade with Mexico or China, but do suggest which local economies depend most on foreign markets. Here are the top 10:
| Metro Area | Exports as percentage of GDP |
| Columbus, Indiana | 50.6 percent |
| Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas | 40.0 percent |
| Lake Charles, Louisiana | 36.9 percent |
| Elkhart-Goshen, Indiana | 34.5 percent |
| Kokomo, Indiana | 34.1 percent |
| Lafayette-West Lafayette, Indiana | 30.9 percent |
| Decatur, Alabama | 29.1 percent |
| Fond du Lac, Wisconsin | 25.1 percent |
| Baton Rouge, Louisiana | 24.3 percent |
| Spartanburg, South Carolina | 24.1 percent |
Source: Brookings analysis of data from the Commerce Department; Labor Department; Moody's Analytics; Internal Revenue Service; Energy Information Agency; NAFSA: Association of International Educators; Sabre
Shares