US trade deficit with China narrows, as effects of trade war-induced export front-loading begin to fade

The United States’ trade deficit with China narrowed in November, led by a decline in imports of consumer goods such as cars and mobile phones.

The latest data from the US Department of Commerce, which had been delayed by the long-running government shutdown, will be well-received by US President Donald Trump, who has railed against the perceived lopsided US trading relationship with China.

For decades, China has sold a far greater volume of goods to the US than it bought, leading Trump to declare on the presidential campaign trail in 2016: “We can't continue to allow China to rape our country, and that's what they're doing.”

The bilateral deficit – which measures the gap between a country’s exports and imports – fell US$2.8 billion to US$35.4 billion in November, a monthly fall of 7.3 per cent.

The narrowing is part of an overall slump in bilateral trade between the world’s two largest economies, with the US buying and selling less to China in November, although the decline in imports was much greater.

The figures still show that when compared with a year earlier, the US trade deficit with China actually widened by 7.1 per cent despite the fact that half of US imports from China are now subject to substantial tariffs.