U.S. trade deficit declines sharply during February

WASHINGTON - The U.S. trade deficit declined sharply in February as imports from China fell by a record amount and American exports rose for a third straight month.

The deficit fell to $43.6 billion in February, 9.6 percent below January’s deficit of $48.2 billion, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Exports rose a tiny 0.2 percent to $192.9 billion. Imports dropped 1.8 percent to $236.4 billion as the flow of Chinese goods tumbled by $8.6 billion, led by a big drop in cellphone imports.

The politically sensitive trade deficit with China narrowed in February to $23 billion, 26.6 percent below the January total. President Donald Trump, who was sharply critical of Chinese trade practices during last year’s presidential campaign, will hold his first meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week in Florida.

In a tweet last week, Trump said that his meeting at Mar-a-Lago with the Chinese leader would be “a very difficult one in that we can no longer have massive trade deficits and job losses.”

During the campaign, Trump attacked China for pursuing unfair trade practices such as manipulating its currency.

The meetings with Xi on Thursday and Friday could prove pivotal in determining the administration’s future course in relations with China. at comics .azcentral.com