Trade deficit rises to 10-year high under Trump
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The annual U.S trade deficit reached a record high in 2018, despite President Trump ’s efforts to reduce foreign purchases and steer consumers toward American-made products.
The difference between the value of goods and services imported and exported by the U.S. rose $68.8 billion from 2017 to $621 billion in 2018, according to Commerce Department data released Wednesday. The monthly trade deficit for December 2018 rose to $59.8 billion, the widest gap for any month since October 2008.
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Trump has made reducing the U.S. trade deficit one of his signature issues. He has focused especially China, which he says is a result of unfair trade deals that hinder American manufacturing and exports. To push back, Trump has imposed tariffs on billions of dollars in foreign goods, including steel, aluminum and Chinese exports.
But most economists counter that the metric does not reflect the full impact of global trade policies. Many say the deficit is driven by a strong U.S. dollar and economy that enables Americans to buy more foreign goods while making U.S. exports more expensive to international buyers.
The latest trade data comes as the Trump administration attempts to finalize a deal with the Chinese government to end a yearlong battle waged through retaliatory tariffs.
Trump has imposed tariffs on more than $250 billion in Chinese exports, while Beijing has responded with levies on U.S. crops and livestock. Even so, the U.S. trade deficit with China increased to $419 billion in 2018, while exports decreased by $9.6 billion to $120.3 billion and imports increased by $34.0 billion to $539.5 billion.
Trump has pledged to lift the new tariffs on Chinese goods if Beijing agrees to halt intellectual property theft from U.S. companies, ramp up purchases of U.S. crops and allow greater foreign access to domestic financial markets.
Not only did the trade deficit increase, it increased exactly where Trump said it wouldn’t
Don't forget he also nearly doubled the US deficit spending from $500 billion to $984 billion. Where are all the conservative fiscal hawks screaming about the debt and the deficit? Where'd they all go? They disappeared as soon as the black President was out of the white house regardless of the fact his successor has nearly doubled the overspending. And now with the trade deficit doing the exact opposite of what Trump promised, how long will conservatives ignore the facts?
Trump is one hell of a deal maker.../s