ZCZC
BCN-16
US-TRADE-DEFICIT
U.S. trade deficit in goods widens in March
WASHINGTON, May 4, 2019 (BSS/Xinhua) – The U.S. trade deficit in goods
widened to 71.4 billion U.S. dollars in March, up from 70.9 billion dollars
in February, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Friday.
Exports of goods increased 1.4 billion dollars to 140.3 billion dollars in
March from the previous month, while imports climbed by 2 billion dollars to
211.7 billion dollars, according to the bureau.
Analysts said the increase in the trade deficit in March could be a slight
drag on economic growth in the first quarter, which expanded at an annual
rate of 3.2 percent in the Commerce Department’s first estimate.
While the Trump administration has vowed to reduce the U.S. trade deficit
by slapping tariffs against imports, economists have argued that trade
balances are mostly driven by macroeconomic factors, not tariffs.
The evolution of bilateral balances over the past two decades has been, “to
a significant extent,” driven by macroeconomic forces, which include fiscal
policy, demographics and domestic demand, economists with the International
Monetary Fund said in a research last month.
The economists warned that a sharp increase in tariffs would create a
“ripple effect” in an integrated global trade system and undermine the world
economy.
“We find that increases in tariffs would particularly hurt output, jobs,
and productivity, not only for those economies directly imposing and facing
them, but also for other countries up and down the value chains,” they said.
BSS/XINHUA/HR/1455