"In a report delayed for more than seven weeks by the federal government shutdown, the Commerce Department said Wednesday that the the gap between what the United States buys from other countries and what it sells them fell to $59.6 billion in August, from $78.2 billion in July. Imports of goods and services dropped 5% to $340.4 billion in August from July when U.S. companies were stocking up on foreign products before Trump finalized taxes on products from almost every country on earth. Those levies went into effect Aug. 7."
""August's smaller trade deficit will be a tailwind for third quarter real GDP, since it means that more U.S. expenditures were directed toward domestically-produced goods and services rather than foreign ones," Bill Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank, wrote in a commentary. "While this release is quite dated because of the government shutdown, it contributes to evidence that the economy was growing briskly in the third quarter.""
"Trump, charging that America's persistent trade deficits mean that other countries have taken advantage of the U.S., has overturned decades of U.S. policy in favor of free trade, slapping double-digit tariffs on imports from most countries and targeting specific products, including steel, copper and autos, with their own levies."
The U.S. trade deficit dropped nearly 24% in August to $59.6 billion from $78.2 billion in July. Imports of goods and services fell 5% to $340.4 billion after U.S. companies had stocked up ahead of tariffs that took effect Aug. 7. Exports rose 0.1% to $280.8 billion. The administration has imposed broad, double-digit tariffs and targeted levies on steel, copper and autos. Despite the August decline, the trade deficit through August rose 25% year-over-year to $713.6 billion. A smaller trade deficit supports third-quarter GDP by shifting spending toward domestic production.
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