U.S. trade deficit soared by $56.8B in November

Jan. 29 (UPI) — The nation’s trade deficit rose by 94.6% in November after posting the lowest imbalance in years a month earlier, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Thursday.

The trade deficit’s sharp rise occurred despite tariffs imposed by the Trump administration and after the nation posted its lowest trade deficit since the first quarter of 2009, CNBC reported.

The United States exported $292.1 billion in goods and services in November, which was $10.9 billion and 3.6% less than in October, according to the Census Bureau report.

Meanwhile, the nation imported $348.9 billion in goods and services, which was an increase of $16.8 billion and 5% from a month earlier.

The $56.8 billion trade deficit was $27.6 billion more than the $29.2 billion deficit that was reported in October.

The United States imported $86.9 billion more goods than it exported in November, but that sum was offset by exporting $30.1 billion more in services than the nation imported, for a total deficit of $56.8 billion.

Goods imported from the European Union accounted for $8.2 billion and a third of the increased trade deficit in November.

The Trump administration in August agreed to a 15% tariff on most of the goods imported into the United States by the European Union to stabilize relations between the trade partners.

That agreement briefly was threatened when President Donald Trump said he would impose 100% tariffs on European nations that opposed the United States annexing Greenland.

The president walked back that comment later after saying agreements had been reached regarding Greenland.

Meanwhile, the nation’s trade deficit with China decreased by $1 billion to $13.9 billion in November.

For the year, the nation’s cumulative trade deficit through November was $839.5 billion, which is a 4% increase from a year earlier.

The Census Bureau said U.S. exports averaged $296.4 billion in November, which was up by $2.7 billion, while imports averaged $341.1 billion for the month, up by $3.1 billion.

For the three months ending in November, the average goods and services deficit rose by $400 million to $44.7 billion over the period.