The US trade deficit continued to shrink in February, fueled by falling imports from China as that country struggled with the coronavirus outbreak, the government reported Thursday.

The Commerce Department report on imports and exports was compiled before the worst of the virus's economic disruptions hit the United States, where many businesses have since been forced to close causing millions to lose their jobs, and others complaining of scarce supplies.

The US trade gap dropped another $5.5 billion from January to $39.9 billion, slightly worse than expected. February exports were $207.5 billion, $0.8 billion less than January, while imports were $247.5 billion, $6.3 billion less than January imports.

As in January, a sharp decline in imports from China played a large role in the data, after President Donald Trump escalated his confrontation with Beijing in 2019, leading to tariffs on nearly all products traded with the country.

The economic powers declared a truce declared in January but left many of those punitive duties in place.

Goods imports from China fell $4.2 billion, accounting for the narrowing of the deficit with the Asian nation to $19.7 billion.

The data showed few signs of the agreement Trump touted to ramp up China's purchases of US products, as goods exports fell $0.3 billion to $7.5 billion in a month where Beijing locked down entire cities to stop COVID-19 from spreading.

The overall US goods deficit fell $5.9 billion to $61.2 billion, while the US surplus in the services trade recorded a slight drop to $21.3 billion.

With the new USMCA continental free trade pact having taken effect, the deficits with Canada and Mexico both grew compared to January, to $1.6 billion and $9.7 billion, respectively.

Related Links
Global Trade News

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

China's Xi calls for tariff cuts at G20 virus talks
Beijing (AFP) March 26, 2020
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday urged G20 countries to remove trade barriers in an effort to spur a global recovery after the economic shock of the coronavirus pandemic. "Xi urged G20 members to cut tariffs, remove barriers and facilitate the unfettered flow of trade" during his remarks at the emergency online summit, the official Xinhua news agency reported. China has been hit hard by the COVID-19 outbreak since it emerged in the country late last year, with more than 80,000 infected ... read more