The Commerce Department reported a record-high U.S. trade deficit alongside record American exports, highlighting strong global demand for U.S. goods, despite President Trump’s ongoing criticism of the deficit. A trade deficit occurs when a country imports more than it exports, and Trump’s focus on reducing it contrasts with the views of most economists. The U.S. trade deficit reflects strong domestic growth and consumption rather than economic weakness, contrasting with slower growth in many other developed nations. Countries with large trade surpluses, like China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia, rely on high resource exports and low domestic consumption.
