(Hi Buggsy)
The trade deficit is an area that needed attention and an area where someone like Trump should've been able to help (and may still). But right now, its not looking so good and, ironically, one reason is the Trump Tax cut:
U.S. Posts Record Annual Trade Deficit
The shortfall grew last year despite President Trump’s aim to reduce it
https://www.wsj.com/articles/december-2018-trade-data-from-u-s-commerce-department-11551877494
So, if Trumpette "logic" holds true, Obama and the "Paul Ryan Tax Cut" are to blame for the RECORD December 2018 trade deficit? haha
"Still, the trade gap swelled 12% from 2017 to $621 billion. Excluding services that the U.S. sells to foreigners, such as tourism, intellectual property and banking, the deficit grew 10% to $891.3 billion, the largest level on record.
Economists say the shortfall was fueled, ironically, by another Trump administration policy: tax cuts and spending increases that juiced demand from U.S. consumers and businesses at a time when growth in the rest of the world was slowing. Concern that the U.S. economy could overheat prompted the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates four times in 2018, contributing to a strong dollar in the second half of the year that made foreign goods relatively cheap for Americans
As a result, U.S. imports grew 7.5%, while exports increased just 6.3%.
“Higher take-home incomes for households have definitely proven to be very conducive to imports,” said Pooja Sriram, an economist at Barclays. “The outcome has been in almost the opposite direction of what the administration has wanted.”
