Trade Deficit With China Grows As Presidents Prepare to Meet

Smart policy needed for true manufacturing job recovery

The Commerce Department reported a goods and services deficit of $43.6 billion in February, down $4.6 billion from $48.2 billion in January. But the goods deficit with China rose to $31.7 billion, up from $30.2 billion.

Said Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) President Scott Paul: 

"America's manufacturers continue to compete against a wave of Chinese imports, and I encourage President Trump to remember this number as he meets with President Xi this week.

"There's been an undercurrent of editorials saying that the trade deficit doesn't matter, but research continues to show that Chinese imports are costing American jobs. 

"We need to crack down on countries with anti-competitive practices that lead to trade deficits in the United States if we want to restore some of our lost factory jobs.

"To do this, Trump must prioritize our trade deficit imbalance and take action to ensure China will finally eliminate state-owned enterprises and its massive industrial overcapacity."

A recent Economic Policy Institute (EPI) report shows that the United States lost 3.4 million jobs from 2001 to 2015 due to America’s surging trade deficit with China. To read the full report visit AmericanManufacturing.org/Research.