Today on the news I heard Fabian Nunez the Speaker of the California Assembly say "Mexico is our No.1 trading partner".
I checked on the U.S. Department of Commerce website and I found out the following
Imports from Mexico: 3rd behind Canada and China
Exports to Mexico: 2nd after Canada
Net Balance of Trade: 5th Largest deficit after China, Japan Canada, and Germany. In fact, out trade deficit with Mexcio is about 2-2-1/2 times what it is with Venezuela and Saudi Arabia. And this is only official trade, not the monies that illegals send back checks and wire transfers.
BTW, these stats are from 2005, but the rankings remain virtually the same as far back as 2000.
Here's the link if anyone is interested
Commerce Department Trade Deficits
At the opening screen just click "Go" and then on the upper right you can toggle between imports, exports and trade balance.