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U.S. Trade Deficit Soars to Decade High $621B in 2018
The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the goods and services deficit reached $59.8 billion in December, a 10-year high, and up $9.5 billion from November’s revised $50.3 billion.
Those numbers pushed the 2018 U.S. trade deficit to a 10-year high of $621 billion. The annual deficit in goods and services increased by $68.8 billion, or 12.5%, according to Commerce Department data.
While tax cuts boosted domestic demand for imports, the strong dollar and retaliatory tariffs weighed on exports. The merchandise-trade deficit with China reached a record $419.2 billion in 2018. As a percentage of U.S. gross domestic product, the goods and services deficit was 3% percent in 2018, up from 2.8% in 2017.
The 2018 figures show deficits were recorded (in billions of dollars) with China ($419.2), European Union ($169.3), Mexico ($81.5), Germany ($68.3), Japan ($67.6), Ireland ($46.8), Italy ($31.6), Malaysia ($26.5), India ($21.3), OPEC ($21.2), Canada ($19.8), Thailand ($19.3), Switzerland ($18.9), South Korea ($17.9), France ($16.2), Taiwan ($15.5), Russia ($14.1), Indonesia ($12.6), and Saudi Arabia ($10.5).
Surpluses were recorded (in billions of dollars) with South and Central America ($41.5), Hong Kong ($31.1), Netherlands ($24.8), Australia ($15.2), and Belgium ($14.2).
For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Dennis Kaiser
- ◦Economy
