The U.S. trade deficit surged to its highest level since 2008 during President Trump’s first year in office — despite his vow to lower the gap and crack down on unfair competition.
The nation’s trade gap in goods and services jumped 12.1 percent to $566 billion in 2017, an increase of $61.2 billion from 2016. The 2017 trade deficit was the highest since 2008, when the deficit hit $708.7 billion, the Commerce Department reported Feb. 6.
Over the course of the year, imports surged to $2.9 trillion, easily eclipsing the $2.3 trillion in U.S. exports.
Notably, the U.S. deficit in goods soared to a record-high $375.2 billion with China, a nation that Trump has both demonized and praised on trade during his tenure.
