U.S. trade deficit jumps by most in 3 years
WASHINGTON — The U.S. trade deficit widened for the second straight month in July as well as by the most in three years, reaching the highest level since February, as imports hit an alltime high. The deficit in goods with China and the European Union set records even as the Trump administration imposed tariffs on a range of Chinese goods, prompting retaliatory levies from Beijing.
The Commerce Department said Wednesday that the deficit in goods and services — the difference between what America sells and what it buys from other countries — rose to $50.1 billion in July from $45.7 billion in June. Exports slipped 1 percent to $211.1 billion. Imports increased 0.9 percent to a record $261.2 billion on increased purchases of trucks and computers.
The increase in the overall trade gap was the biggest since March 2015, the Commerce Department said.
The deficit rose despite efforts by President Donald Trump to bring it down by renegotiating trade agreements and imposing taxes on imports.
The United States has already slapped tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese goods in a dispute over Beijing’s aggressive efforts to challenge American technological dominance. It is taxing imported steel and aluminum and may target auto imports next, causing a rift with the EU. Trump also has threatened to exclude Canada from a revamped North American trade agreement.
But the president’s aggressive policies have had little impact on the trade numbers. The goods deficit with China rose 10 percent in July to a record $36.8 billion. The gap with the EU shot up 50 percent to a record $17.6 billion and with Canada nearly 58 percent to $3.1 billion. The July deficit with Mexico, however, plunged 25 percent to $5.5 billion.
So far this year, the trade deficit is up 7 percent from January-July 2017.