U.S. Trade Deficit Dips in June as Imports Fall Back
Imports and exports both declined, retreating from a busy month in May, data from the Commerce Department showed.
The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services fell slightly to $73.3 billion in June as America imported fewer goods than it sold abroad.
Imports dropped 1.8 percent from the previous month, to $388 billion, though imports from Mexico, Vietnam and South Korea were at record levels.
U.S. exports also fell slightly from a busy month in May , according to data the Commerce Department released on Tuesday. Exports dropped 0.9 percent in the month, to $314.7 billion, as petroleum exports fell back from a historical high the prior month. Both exports and imports of services hit record levels in June.
The combination decreased the monthly trade deficit, the gap between what the United States imports and what it exports. The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services fell 5.6 percent from the prior month.
The Trump administration has tried to narrow the trade deficit, which it sees as a sign of America’s manufacturing weakness, with steep tariffs on foreign goods. On July 24, it imposed a new round of duties on more than 80 countries, an effort to rebuild the tariffs that the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional earlier this year.
