Trade gap

Paul Wiseman Associated Press Published 8:48 AM EDT Nov 2, 2018 Washington – Record imports expanded the U.S. trade deficit for the fourth straight month in September. The politically sensitive trade deficit in goods with China hit a record. The Commerce Department says the gap between what America sells and what it buys abroad climbed to $54 billion, up 1.3 percent from $53.3 billion in August and the highest level since February. Imports climbed 1.5 percent to a record $266.6 billion, and exports also rose 1.5 percent to $212.6 billion. The goods deficit with China rose by 4.3 percent to a record $40.2 billion. President Donald Trump has made a priority of reducing America’s huge, persistent trade deficits. Despite his tariffs on imported steel and aluminum and on Chinese goods, the deficit so far this year is up 10.1 percent to $445.2 billion. … [Read more...] about US trade gap grew to $54B in September

Paul Wiseman Associated Press Updated 8:48 AM EDT Oct 5, 2018 Washington – Record imports drove the U.S. trade deficit up for the third straight month in August. The deficit in the trade of goods with China and Mexico hit records. The Commerce Department said Friday that the trade gap – the difference between what America sells and what it buys abroad – rose to $53.2 billion in August from $50 billion in July. The August reading was the highest since February. Imports rose 0.6 percent to a record $262.7 billion on higher shipments of cellphones and autos; exports slid 0.8 percent to $209.4 billion. The U.S. ran a $76.7 billion deficit in the trade of goods such as machinery and cars. That gap was partially offset by a $23.5 billion surplus in the trade of services such as banking and tourism. President Donald Trump campaigned on a pledge to bring down U.S. trade deficits and has slapped taxes on imported steel, aluminum and on many Chinese products, drawing … [Read more...] about Record imports push US trade gap to $53.2B in August