The trade deficit of the United States has increased in 2018 to the highest level in ten years. As the Commerce Department announced in Washington, exceeded the imports, the exports of 621 billion dollars. This is an increase of 18.8% in comparison to 2017, as the difference was well 552 billion dollars.
just last December, the deficit therefore increased by 19 percent, from 50.3 billion dollars in the previous month to 59.8 billion dollars. While imports rose in the United States by a total of 2.1 percent, decreased exports in other countries in December, however, by 1.9 percent.
US President Donald Trump had argued in the past, the United States would be exploited by major trading partners such as the people’s Republic of China. In the past year, he had imports with punitive tariffs on foreign steel, and Aluminum, as well as Chinese products will be introduced. Repeated Trump pressure was exerted on a large trading partner such as China or the EU to import more from the United States. The declared goal was to reduce the trade imbalance.
Higher trade deficit with China
In the case of Goods and goods, the trade deficit reached in the past year, but even new records, The trade deficit with China was, therefore, in 2018, in EUR 419.2 billion dollars, an increase of 12 percent. The trade deficit with Mexico amounted to 81.5 billion dollars, the one with the European Union 169,3 billion dollars.
observers assume, however, that the chronic trade deficit is mainly the result of a consistently high consumption and low Savings in the United States. The last had driven also in the United States compared to other regions of higher growth in imports and the deficit expanded. At the same time, the US were charged to exports by the high Dollar exchange rate and additional duties.
According to experts, it could come in the trade dispute between the United States and China to an agreement soon. Thus, further tariff increases in the United States on Chinese Goods to the value of $ 200 billion could be averted. Trump and China’s leader Xi Jinping might be decided on by an agreement later this month at a summit.
