TradePost Archives > May 21, 2009 > this article

Trade deficit sees small increase as exports fall faster than imports

May 13, 2009
World Trade\Interactive

The U.S. goods and services trade deficit rose for only the second time in the last seven months in March, up $1.5 billion to $27.6 billion. Exports dropped again after a brief recovery in February, falling $3.0 billion to $123.6 billion. The decline in imports slowed from its recent pace with a $1.6 billion drop to $151.2 billion. Year-on-year the goods and services trade deficit was down $29.8 billion, with imports (down $55.9 billion) falling twice as fast as exports (down $26.0 billion).

On a country-by-country basis, the U.S. trade deficit with China edged up from $14.2 billion to $15.6 billion. The deficit with Canada fell by more than 50%, to $0.8 billion, while deficits increased with respect to the European Union ($4.4 billion), Mexico ($3.9 billion), Japan ($2.6 billion), Korea ($1.2 billion) and Nigeria ($0.9 billion). The U.S. continued to maintain trade surpluses with Hong Kong ($1.5 billion), Australia ($1.1 billion), Singapore ($0.5 billion), and Egypt ($0.3 billion).