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Promote:Illinois

Export from Illinois

A short guide for companies selling from Illinois: the export figures, the agreements and their limits, the main steps and who can help, each with its source.

1. What Illinois sells, and who buys it

Top goods exports

2025

  1. 1. Smartphones and wireless phones (HS 8517)US$4.36 billion
  2. 2. Blood products, vaccines and cultures (HS 3002)US$4.13 billion
  3. 3. Medicines in dosage form (HS 3004)US$3.47 billion
  4. 4. Trucks and delivery vehicles (HS 8704)US$2.54 billion
  5. 5. Vehicle parts and accessories (HS 8708)US$2.39 billion
  6. 6. Medical and dental instruments (HS 9018)US$2.02 billion
  7. 7. Gold (HS 7108)US$2.02 billion
  8. 8. Soybeans (HS 1201)US$1.81 billion
Show 12 more products
  1. 9. Passenger cars (HS 8703)US$1.78 billion
  2. 10. Civilian aircraft, engines and partsUS$1.55 billion
  3. 11. Refined petroleum products (HS 2710)US$1.54 billion
  4. 12. Computers and data processing machines (HS 8471)US$1.47 billion
  5. 13. Centrifuges and filtering equipment (HS 8421)US$1.17 billion
  6. 14. Valves and taps (HS 8481)US$1.1 billion
  7. 15. Corn (HS 1005)US$1.03 billion
  8. 16. Harvesting machines (HS 8433)US$1.01 billion
  9. 17. Liquid pumps (HS 8413)US$939.2 million
  10. 18. Transmission shafts and bearing housings (HS 8483)US$897.8 million
  11. 19. Parts for lifting and earthmoving machines (HS 8431)US$853.9 million
  12. 20. Radioactive isotopes and compounds (HS 2844)US$840 million
  • Origin of movement is where goods began their journey to the port, not always where made. For farm and mining goods the state shown generally reflects the port of export, and foreign-trade zone shipments are spread among states. Source⁠ (opens in a new tab)
  • The ranking's shares are of US$80,195.3 million, the Census Bureau's current 2025 total in its state export data. The exports total shown, US$79,955.4 million, is Exhibit 2's figure as first published, so the two differ slightly. Source⁠ (opens in a new tab)

Source: Census Bureau, state exports by product and destination, 2025⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of 2025

Where the goods go

2025, share of goods exports

  • Canada22.6%
  • Mexico14.9%
  • Australia5.5%
  • Germany5.4%
  • Netherlands5.2%
  • United Kingdom4.7%
  • Brazil4%
  • China3.7%
Show 2 more destinations
  • Switzerland2.9%
  • Japan2.9%

Source: Census Bureau, state exports by product and destination, 2025⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of 2025

2. What to look into next

Our reading

Promote:Global’s reading of the figures above, not a source’s statement, and not advice.

3. Trade agreements

For Illinois: the United States’ agreements apply

4. What Illinois runs for exporters

Only what Illinois itself runs or asks of exporters, each with its source.

Show 3 more

Export requirements across the United States: see the steps in Export from the United States

5. Steps to export

The main steps, in order, each with the body responsible and its official page.

Exporting from Illinois

  1. Book export advising with an Illinois SBDC International Trade Center to check readiness, markets and pricing.Illinois Small Business Development CentersOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: Illinois SBDC network, International Trade Centers page⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of November 3, 2026

  2. Ask OTI or a Trade Center about ISTEP reimbursement for mission travel, compliance certification, website localization or credit insurance.Office of Trade and Investment, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic OpportunityCaps of US$5,000 to US$10,000 per companyOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: DCEO, ISTEP Program page⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of November 3, 2026

  3. For food and farm products, ask IDOA about markets, its international offices and the Food Export Midwest cost-share program it links.Illinois Department of AgricultureOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: IDOA, Exporting Assistance page⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of November 3, 2026

  4. For nursery stock, ask IDOA for an inspection and the phytosanitary request form before you ship.Illinois Department of AgricultureOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: IDOA, Nursery Inspection Program page⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of November 3, 2026

Show 3 more export steps
  1. For commercial feed, ask IDOA to certify the product for export.Illinois Department of AgricultureOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: IDOA, Agricultural Products Inspection page⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of November 3, 2026

  2. Classify your product and check whether it needs an export license before you ship.Bureau of Industry and SecurityOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: ITA, United States export regulations page⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of November 3, 2026

  3. File electronic export information in the Automated Export System when goods under one Schedule B number are worth over US$2,500, or need a license.U.S. Census BureauOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: ITA, Automated Export System filing page⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of November 3, 2026

6. Organizations that help exporters

Start with OTI and Illinois SBDC Trade Centers. Each card links to the organization’s own site.

Each card says what it can help with:Get adviceFind financeMeet requirementsResearch markets

Export development and market information

Show 2 more organizations

Customs and tax

Show 1 more organization

Standards and sector requirements

Show 1 more organization

Chambers and industry associations

7. Worth knowing

  • State export cost reimbursement

    ISTEP reimburses small businesses for mission travel, compliance certification, website localization and export credit insurance, with caps of US$5,000 to US$10,000, funded in part by a Small Business Administration grant.

    What to do: Check the eligibility tests and apply before you book any cost.

    Source: DCEO, ISTEP Program page⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of November 3, 2026

  • Illinois–Indonesia memorandum

    On August 6, 2026 Illinois and Indonesia announced a memorandum of understanding on trade, new markets for Illinois farmers, and business, education and workforce cooperation.

    What to do: Ask OTI what the memorandum covers for your product before you quote a price in Indonesia.

    Source: DCEO, press release data feed, 2026⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of November 3, 2026

Across the United States: see Worth knowing in Export from the United States

8. How Promote:Global helps

  • Compare potential export marketsSee which markets import what you sell, ranked on public trade data, and read each country before you commit.
  • Check duties and document requirementsCheck the duty, the origin conditions for a preferential rate and the documents a shipment needs.
  • Find advisors and service firmsAsk an advisory firm a scoped, paid question, or browse firms that list their own services, from legal work to logistics.
  • Organize your next stepsKeep each product and market in a project, with a roadmap of steps you work through.

Turn this guide into your Illinois project.

Use Promote:Global to explore markets, understand requirements and organize your next steps.

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Promote:Illinois is an independent guide by Promote:Global, not an official government portal. The organizations named here are independent public and membership bodies, not Promote:Global partners, and every link goes to their own site.

Facts read from public sources, with an editorial cut-off of November 3, 2026. Nothing here is investment, legal, tax or sanctions advice. Check current status with the organization before you rely on it.