The U.S. trade deficit in goods with China fell by nearly 18 percent in 2019, as imports from China plunged while tariffs climbed.
Imported goods from China fell to $452.2 billion, down from $539.6 a year earlier, a 16.2 percent decline. The trade deficit in goods fell from $419.5 billion to $345.6 billion, according to Commerce Department data released Wednesday. That was the lowest level since 2014.
The broader deficit in goods with the rest of the world fell 2.4 percent last year to $886 billion.
Imports from Taiwan jumped to $54.3 billion from $45.8 billion the prior year, suggesting that Taiwan has been a major beneficiary of the trade war between the U.S. and China.
The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services shrank for the first time in six years, narrowing by 1.7 percent to $616.8 billion.
The trade deficits with the European Union were the highest on record, according to the Commerce Department. This may prompt the Trump administration to step up its efforts to get European countries to have a more reciprocal trade relationship with the U.S.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.