US trade deficit in goods reaches record high in August

Name: Coronavirus backlash further fraying China’s ties to global economy
Uploaded: 2020-10-06T20:52:54.000Z
Duration: 5 min 2 s
Description: Coronavirus backlash further fraying China’s ties to global economy

US deficit for goods traded with China on a non-seasonally adjusted basis shrinks in August, but still higher than any other month this year except July

The US overall trade deficit – including both goods and services – reached US$67.1 billion in August

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US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the increased deficit was a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: AFP

Jacob Fromer

Published: 4:52am, 7 Oct 2020Updated: 9:02pm, 7 Oct 2020

The US trade deficit in goods reached a record high in the month of August, according to new data published by the commerce department on Tuesday.

With less than a month remaining before the presidential election and the US economy still struggling from the coronavirus pandemic, the latest numbers show that the overall trade deficit in goods and services is now 56 per cent higher than when Donald Trump was sworn into office in January 2017.

A trade deficit refers to the gap between how much the US buys from overseas and how much it sells, and it is a measurement that Trump had insisted over the years was a sign of the US economy’s poor health.

Trump has railed against trade deficits for years, long before he ran for president, and especially when talking about those coming from China. On the campaign trail in 2016, Trump accused China of “raping” the US with trade.

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Coronavirus backlash further fraying China’s ties to global economy

In January, at the signing ceremony for the phase one trade deal with Beijing, Trump said about trade: “It’s probably the biggest reason why I ran for president.”