The Commerce Department said Wednesday that the deficit in goods and services — the difference between what America sells and what it buys from other countries — rose to $50.1 billion in July from $45.7 billion in June. Exports slipped 1 percent to $211.1 billion. Imports increased 0.9 percent to a record $261.2 billion on increased purchases of trucks and computers.
The deficit rose despite efforts by President Donald Trump to bring it down by renegotiating trade agreements and imposing taxes on imports.
So far, the president’s aggressive policies have had little impact on the trade numbers. The goods deficit with
So far this year, the trade deficit is up 7 percent from January-.
Trump views trade deficits as a sign of economic weakness, caused by bad trade deals and abusive behavior by America’s trading partners.
Mainstream economists blame persistent
In July,