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(CNSNews.com) – The United States ran a $163,000,000,000 merchandise trade deficit with the People’s Republic of China through the first seven months (January through July) of 2020, according to data released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau.
That is down 18 percent from the $199,800,000,000 merchandise trade deficit that the United States ran with the PRC in the first seven months of 2019.
It is also down 27 percent from the peak January-July merchandise trade deficit of $222,600,000,000 that the United States ran with the PRC in 2018, according to Census Bureau data.
In the first seven months of 2020, the United States imported $221,864,000,000 in goods from the People’s Republic of China while exporting only $58,527,800,000 in goods to China. The result was a $163,336,900,000 merchandise trade deficit.
Through the full twelve months of 2019, the United States ran a $345,204,200,000 merchandise trade deficit with the People’s Republic of China. That was by far the largest trade deficit the United States ran with any nation last year.
In the first seven months of 2020 (January through July), the second largest merchandise trade deficit the United States ran–after the $163.3 billion deficit with the PRC–was a $55.7 billion deficit with Mexico. The third largest was a $40.4 billion deficit with Switzerland. The fourth largest was a $34.8 billion deficit with Vietnam. The fifth largest was a $32.7 billion trade deficit with Ireland.
This chart shows the nations with the 15 largest merchandise trade deficits with the United States in the January-through-July 2020 period:
