Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
US Trade Deficit Dips to $68.9 Billion With Exports Up
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
June 8, 2021

Share

WASHINGTON — The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in April to $68.9 billion as an improving global economy boosted sales of American exports.

The April deficit, the gap between what America buys from abroad and what it sells to other countries, was down 8.2% from a record March deficit of $75 billion, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

The improving economic situation overseas drove up demand for American goods while domestic demand for imports slowed.

Demand for Exports Rose While Imports Declined

In April, exports of U.S. goods and services rose 1.1% to $205 billion while imports declined 1.4% to $273.9 billion. Part of the boost in exports came from a $1.4 billion increase in sales of civilian aircraft, a positive sign that a rebound in air travel from depressed pandemic levels is prompting stronger sales of jetliners.

The drop in imports reflected a $1.1 billion decline in purchases of foreign-made autos and auto parts.

Through the first four months of the year, the U.S. trade deficit totals $281.7 billion, up 50.4% from the deficit during the same period in 2020, a time when the U.S. economy was essentially shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The politically sensitive deficit with China fell to $25.8 billion in April, down 6.7% from the March imbalance. But through the first four months of this year, the deficit with China, the largest the United States runs with any country, was up 37.1% over the same period a year ago.

The deficit in just goods in April totaled $86.7 billion while the surplus in services totaled $17.8 billion. The United States runs surpluses in services trade which help lower the goods deficit. However, the services economy, which includes travel payments such as airline fares, has been hit hard by the coronavirus with the service surplus down 16.2% so far this year compared to the same period a year ago.

Economists Forecast Trade Deficit to Continue to Drop

While many economists are forecasting that the trade deficit will continue to drop in coming months, some analysts are worried that the recovering U.S. economy will continue to favor foreign-made products.

“Domestic demand is roaring back amid reopening and a rapidly improving health backdrop,” said Mahir Rasheed, U.S. economist at Oxford Economics. “The trade deficit is poised to widen further as the fiscally powered, consumer-driven recovery in the U.S. runs ahead of the global economic rebound.”

But Michael Pearce, senior U.S. economist, said he believed trade would provide a slight boost to overall economic growth in the current April-June quarter, helped by an improving performance of U.S. exports. That would be an improvement from the big drag to economic growth from trade in the first quarter.

During his four years in office, Donald Trump pursued a get-tough trade strategy that used punitive tariffs on other country’s exports in an effort to lower America’s huge trade deficits with the rest of the world, which he blamed for the loss of millions of American manufacturing jobs.

But Trump’s efforts failed to alter the trade imbalances. So far, the Biden administration has left most of the penalty tariffs in place as his administration works to determine the approach it will take to trade.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

‘King of the Hill’ Voice Actor Jonathan Joss Fatally Shot Outside His Texas Home

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Crews Battle Active Wildfire in Yokuts Valley, Evacuation Warning Issued

DON'T MISS

Not Quite ‘Hunger Games,’ but Fresno Budget Hearings Start

DON'T MISS

Clovis CPA Sentenced to Prison for $800K Bank Fraud Scheme

DON'T MISS

His Gang Name Is ‘Goer.’ Now Fresno County Man Is Going to Prison for 20 Years

DON'T MISS

Missing Woman Found Dead in Fresno County Canal Identified

DON'T MISS

Co-Conspirator Sentenced in Fraud Involving Loans to Bitwise

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Stephanie Marie Zamarripa

DON'T MISS

Why Trump Is Mad at ‘Sleazebag’ Leonard Leo

DON'T MISS

Trump Amplifies Outlandish Robot Biden Conspiracy Theory

UP NEXT

American Doctors Are Moving to Canada To Escape the Trump Administration

UP NEXT

Loretta Swit, Emmy-winner Who Played Houlihan on Pioneering TV Series ‘M.A.S.H.,’ Has Died at 87

UP NEXT

1 in 4 US Children Have Parents With Substance Use Disorder, Study Finds

UP NEXT

Dozens Sickened in Expanding Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Recalled Cucumbers

UP NEXT

Speaker Johnson Raises Campaign Money in Fresno

UP NEXT

Business Insider Cuts 21% of Workforce, Memo Shows

UP NEXT

Harvard Agrees to Relinquish Early Photos of Slaves, Ending a Long Legal Battle

UP NEXT

Silence on E. Coli Outbreak Highlights How Trump Team’s Changes Undermine Food Safety

UP NEXT

Trump Pardons Tax Cheat After Mother Attends $1 Million Dinner

UP NEXT

NPR Sues Trump Administration Over Executive Order to Cut Funding

US Judge Dismisses California’s Tariff Lawsuit, Teeing up Appeal

7 hours ago

Young Democrats Offer Lessons for Their Leaders at Party Convention

8 hours ago

California Prisons Have a Narcotics Problem. Now, More People Will Face Canine Searches

8 hours ago

After Years of Undrinkable Water, Our Rural California Community Finally Has Hope

8 hours ago

Fellow Clovis Councilmember, Public Bash Pearce Over Trans Athlete

8 hours ago

Musk Calls Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill ‘a Disgusting Abomination’

9 hours ago

US Tariffs Could Put Air Safety at Risk, Aerospace and Airline Industries Warn

9 hours ago

Trump to Sign Order Doubling Metals Tariffs, White House Says

9 hours ago

California Inmate Gets Five Years for Role in Drone Drug Smuggling Scheme

10 hours ago

Millions Invested in Land for Innovation Village. Will It Be a Fresno Game-Changer?

10 hours ago

Clovis Unified Families ‘Resigned’ To Grad Ceremony Ban, Attorney Says

Barring any last-minute about-faces by Clovis Unified officials, eight high school seniors won’t be joining their classmates at their ...

4 hours ago

4 hours ago

Clovis Unified Families ‘Resigned’ To Grad Ceremony Ban, Attorney Says

5 hours ago

Hegseth Orders the Name of Gay Rights Activist Harvey Milk Scrubbed From Navy Ship

5 hours ago

Knicks Fire Coach Tom Thibodeau After First Eastern Conference Finals Berth in 25 Years

U.S. President Donald Trump holds a chart next to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick as Trump delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 2, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
7 hours ago

US Judge Dismisses California’s Tariff Lawsuit, Teeing up Appeal

8 hours ago

Young Democrats Offer Lessons for Their Leaders at Party Convention

8 hours ago

California Prisons Have a Narcotics Problem. Now, More People Will Face Canine Searches

8 hours ago

After Years of Undrinkable Water, Our Rural California Community Finally Has Hope

8 hours ago

Fellow Clovis Councilmember, Public Bash Pearce Over Trans Athlete

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend