Record imports push US trade gap to $55.5 billion in October

[workinclasszero]

By PAUL WISEMAN today

WASHINGTON (AP) — Record imports in October drove the U.S. trade deficit to the highest level in a decade.

The Commerce Department said Thursday that the gap between the United States sells and what it buys from foreign countries hit $55.5 billion in October, the fifth straight increase and highest since October 2008.

The politically sensitive deficit in the trade of goods with China rose 7.1% to a record $43.1 billion. The goods gap with the European Union widened 65.5% to a record $17.6 billion.

Led by shipments of medicine and cars, overall imports rose 0.2% to a record $266.5 billion. Exports fell 0.1% to $211 billion.

President Donald Trump campaigned on a pledge to slash America’s longstanding trade deficit with the rest of the world. Despite his import taxes on steel, aluminum and Chinese goods, the deficit so far this year is running 11.4% above January-October 2017.

U.S. exports of soybeans, targeted for retaliatory tariffs by China, dropped 46.8% in October.

https://apnews.com/73e93b30c49a4349aea32f2f42249cc5

[Ohiogal]

1. "Trade wars are easy to win ...."

[workinclasszero]

2. Remember all the deficit hawk republicans when there was a democratic president/congress?

Where did they go?

Under individual 1's reign of error, they all disappeared.

[Wellstone ruled]

3. Sas truth is

the third quarter is now the heaviest for goods to be received at our ports. We are in a Global Economy and with every thing being made at the lowest possible wages,that means IMPORTS.

[TheBlackAdder]

4. Drive down people's wages, drive p their cost of living, they'll look for Wal*Mart/Amazon cheapness

.

Which further drives wages and benefits down while driving unemployment up.

.

[workinclasszero]

5. The race to the bottom is real