The US foreign trade deficit rose to a 12-year high last year

The US Department of Commerce informed that The U.S. foreign trade deficit rose 17.7 percent to $ 679 billion last year, reaching its highest level since 2008 as global trade was disrupted by a coronavirus pandemic. The US deficit in foreign trade in goods and services in 2019 was $ 577 billion. US exports fell 15.7 percent to $ 2.1 trillion last year and imports fell 9.5 percent to $ 2.8 trillion. As President Donald Trump sought to reduce the trade deficit by imposing tariffs on imported goods, to the greatest extent since the 1930s trade wars, the deficit fell in 2019 but widened again in 2020. Exports of US services weakened by 20.4 percent last year. Nevertheless, the US achieved a surplus of $ 237 billion in this segment. However, this surplus was outweighed by a $ 916 billion deficit in trade in goods. The US politically sensitive trade deficit with China fell 10 percent to $ 311 billion last year.