Background

The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services hit an all-time high in August, increasing 4.1 percent to $73.3 billion. According to statistics from the Department of Commerce, imports rose 1.4 percent to a record $287.0 billion while exports edged up 0.5 percent to $213.7 billion.

The year-to-date deficit was up 33.7 percent from August 2020 as exports increased 17.5 percent and imports jumped 21.2 percent.

The deficit in goods trade grew 1.8 percent in August to $89.4 billion. Imports of goods rose 1.1 percent to $239.1 billion, including increases of $2.2 billion for pharmaceutical preparations, $800 million for organic chemicals, and $600 million for toys, games, and sporting goods, along with a $1.3 billion decrease for passenger cars. Exports of goods were up 0.7 percent to a record $149.7 billion, including increases of $1.6 billion in non-monetary gold and $700 million for natural gas along with decreases of $700 million for civilian aircraft and $600 million for corn.

The services surplus fell another 8.0 percent to $16.2 billion, the lowest level in nearly a decade, with imports up 2.8 percent to $47.9 billion and exports down 0.2 percent to $64.0 billion.

Country/region

Deficit

% Change

Surplus

% Change

China

$28.1 billion

+12.4

 

 

European Union

$19.3 billion

+6.6

 

 

Mexico

$6.6 billion

-22.4

 

 

Germany

$5.8 billion

+3.6

 

 

Japan

$5.6 billion

-6.7

 

 

Canada

$5.1 billion

+41.7

 

 

Taiwan

$3.6 billion

+5.9

 

 

Italy

$3.1 billion

-11.4

 

 

South Korea

$3.1 billion

+47.6

 

 

India

$3.0 billion

+7.1

 

 

France

$1.4 billion

-33.3

 

 

Saudi Arabia

$0.6 billion

+100

 

 

South/Central America

 

 

$5.7 billion

+9.6

Hong Kong

 

 

$2.2 billion

-4.3

Brazil

 

 

$2.1 billion

+50.0

Singapore

 

 

$1.0 billion

-23.1

United Kingdom

 

 

$0.8 billion

+166.7

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