62 years. The paper reported expectations that this would continue until 2020. In fact, petroleum was the major export from the country in 2011. Telecommunications The Internet was developed in the U.S. and the country hosts many of the world's largest hubs. International trade The United States is the world's second-largest trading nation. There is a large amount of U.S. dollars in circulation all around the planet; about 60% of funds used in international trade are U.S. dollars. The dollar is also used as the standard unit of currency in international markets for commodities such as gold and petroleum. The North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, created one of the largest trade blocs in the world in 1994. Since 1976, the U.S. has sustained merchandise trade deficits with other nations, and since 1982, current account deficits. The nation's long-standing surplus in its trade in services was maintained, however, and reached a record US$231billion in 2013. The U.S. trade deficit increased from $502billion in 2016 to $552billion in 2017, an increase of $50billion or 10%. During 2017, total imports were $2.90trillion, while exports were $2.35trillion. The net deficit in goods was $807billion, while the net surplus in services was $255billion. Americas ten largest trading partners are China, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Germany, South Korea, United Kingdom, France, India and Taiwan. The goods trade deficit with China rose from $347billion in 2016 to $376billion in 2017, an increase of $30billion or 8%. In 2017, the U.S. had a goods trade deficit of $71billion with Mexico and $17billion with Canada. According to the KOF index of globalization and the globalization index by A.T. Kearney/Foreign Policy Magazine, the U.S. has a relatively high degree of globalization. U.S. workers send a third of all remittances in the world. Financial position U.S. household and non-profit net worth exceeded $100trillion for the first time in Q1 2018; it has been setting records since Q4 2012. The U.S. federal government or "national debt" was $21.1trillion in May 2018, just over 100% GDP. Using a subset of the national debt called "debt held by the public", U.S. debt was approximately 77% GDP in 2017. By this measure, the U.S. ranked 43rd highest among 2017 nations. Debt held by the public rose considerably as a result of the Great Recession and its aftermath. It is expected to continue rising as the country ages towards 100% GDP by 2028. The U.S.