<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" class="">For Immediate Release: Sept. 3, 2020<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" class="">Contact: Matthew Groch, </span><a href="mailto:mgroch@citizen.org" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">mgroch@citizen.org</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193); text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">,</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" class=""> (202) 454-5111<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><b class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""> </span></b></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: center;" class=""><b class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Trump Trade Deficit 12.24% Higher Than Obama’s Last Year New Census Bureau Data Shows, Not Eliminated as Then-Candidate Trump Promised<o:p class=""></o:p></span></b></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: center;" class=""><b class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""> </span></b></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: center;" class=""><b class=""><i class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">July 2020 Biggest Monthly Trade Deficit since July 2009<o:p class=""></o:p></span></i></b></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify;" class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(38, 40, 42);" class=""> </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><b class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(38, 40, 42);" class="">WASHINGTON, D.C.</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(38, 40, 42);" class=""> – The $340 billion trade deficit in the first seven months of 2020 is 12.24% higher than the $302 billion deficit during the same period before he entered office in 2016, an inflation-adjusted analysis of today’s latest Census Bureau trade data conducted by Public Citizen shows.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify;" class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(38, 40, 42);" class=""> </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(38, 40, 42);" class="">The July 2020 deficit is the largest monthly deficit since July 2008, during the global financial crisis and related recession. The unexpectedly large growth in the trade deficit is especially notable given that trade flows have declined overall because of the global COVID-19 crisis.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""><o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""> </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">“Trump pledged to eliminate the trade deficit and end job outsourcing, but the overall 2020 deficit is on track to be larger than when he took office, and his Labor Department has certified more than 300,000 American jobs were lost to outsourcing and imports during his presidency,” said Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch. This figure reflects the number of workers whose trade-related job losses were approved for </span><a href="https://www.citizen.org/article/trade-adjustment-assistance-database/" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Trade Adjustment Assistance</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""> (TAA) retraining and other benefits, which means the total job loss number is even greater, as workers must know about TAA and successfully apply to be counted.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">The new U.S. Census Bureau trade data showed:<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 13.5pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: -13.5pt;" class=""><span style="font-family: Symbol;" class="">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman";" class=""> </span></span><b class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">The seven-month 2020 overall trade deficit is 12.24% higher than the deficit during the same period in 2016, the year before Trump took office, even as the impact of COVID-19 reduced the deficit 4.3% compared to the first seven months of 2019.</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""> Comparing the first seven months of President Barack Obama’s last year in office (January to July 2016), the goods and services trade deficit increased from $302 billion to $340 billion in inflation-adjusted terms.<a name="_Hlk47515532" class="">(The unadjusted figures provided in the government database show a rise from $279 billion to $337 billion.)</a><o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 13.5pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""> </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 31.5pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;" class=""><span style="font-family: "Courier New";" class="">o<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman";" class=""> </span></span><b class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">The increase between the same periods in 2016 and 2020 is especially notable given the drop in trade flows related to the COVID-19 pandemic.</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Comparing the trade flows in the first seven months of 2019 to the same period in 2020, U.S. trade has decreased 15%.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 13.5pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: -13.5pt;" class=""><span style="font-family: Symbol;" class="">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman";" class=""> </span></span><b class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" class="">The July 2020 trade deficit is the largest monthly deficit since July 2008 during the </span></b><b class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">global<span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" class=""> financial crisis and recession</span></span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" class="">. July’s 2020 goods and services trade deficit rose from $50.7 billion in June 2020 to $63.5 billion, a 25.3% increase. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="">Imports grew 11% in July relative to June, to $231.67 billion, while exports only grew 8.1%, to $168.1 billion, and remain below the $209.65 billion in February 2020 before the pandemic.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""><o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 13.5pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: -13.5pt;" class=""><span style="font-family: Symbol;" class="">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman";" class=""> </span></span><b class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" class="">The July 2020 monthly </span></b><b class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">trade<span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" class=""> deficit in goods ($80.1 billion) is also the highest on record.</span></span><span style="color: rgb(44, 44, 44);" class=""> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" class="">And the 2020 seven-month trade deficit in goods is 5.3% higher than during same period of 2016, when it was $470 billion (in inflation-adjusted dollars). The U.S. trade deficit in goods decreased 5.4% in inflation-adjusted terms from $524 billion in the first seven months of 2019 to $495 billion in the same period of 2020.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""><o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 13.5pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""> </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 13.5pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: -13.5pt;" class=""><span style="font-family: Symbol; color: rgb(44, 44, 44);" class="">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman";" class=""> </span></span><b class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" class="">The July 2020 surplus in services trade was the smallest since August 2012, at $17.4 billion.</span></b><span style="color: rgb(44, 44, 44);" class=""><o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><b class=""><span style="color: rgb(44, 44, 44);" class=""> </span></b></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 13.5pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: -13.5pt;" class=""><span style="font-family: Symbol; color: rgb(44, 44, 44);" class="">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman";" class=""> </span></span><b class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" class="">The goods deficit with Mexico hit a record high of $10.6 billion in July 2020. </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="">The trade in goods deficit with North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners is 16.17% higher in the first seven months of 2020 relative to the same period in 2016 before Trump entered office, but down 13.68% relative to 2019 even as Mexican exports to the U.S. began to expand significantly in June.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(44, 44, 44);" class=""><o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify;" class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""> </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 31.5pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;" class=""><span style="font-family: "Courier New";" class="">o<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman";" class=""> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" class="">The NAFTA deficit in the first seven months of 2020 was $119 billion, 16.17% higher than the same period in 2016, when it was equivalent to $102 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars. (In nominal terms, the goods trade deficit with NAFTA parties increased by 25.5%, or $24 billion.)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""><o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify;" class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""> </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 31.5pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;" class=""><span style="font-family: "Courier New";" class="">o<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman";" class=""> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">The goods trade deficit with NAFTA parties decreased by $18.9 billion in inflation-<span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" class="">adjusted</span> terms compared to the same period in 2019, largely because of measures taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify;" class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""> </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 13.5pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: -13.5pt;" class=""><span style="font-family: Symbol;" class="">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman";" class=""> </span></span><b class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" class="">The China trade in goods deficit is down relative to Obama’s last year, but there is “trade diversion” effect of imports increasing from other countries.</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" class=""> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""><o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 13.5pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""> </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 31.5pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;" class=""><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" class="">o<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman";" class=""> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" class="">The 2020 seven-month trade deficit with China of $164 billion is 20.6% smaller </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">compared<span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" class=""> to 2016, before Trump entered office, when it was $207 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars for the January-July period. The China deficit is down 19% in inflation-adjusted terms from 2019, when it was $203 billion in the first seven months.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify;" class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: red;" class=""> </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 31.5pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;" class=""><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" class="">o<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman";" class=""> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" class="">In inflation-adjusted dollars, the goods trade deficit with the rest of the world (excluding China) increased from $321 billion to $331 billion in the first seven months of 2020 relative to the same period in 2019, a 3.2% rise.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""> </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify;" class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">*Data Note: Trade data is sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau. We present deficit figures adjusted for inflation to the base month of July 2020 and expressed the data in constant dollars so the figures represent actual changes in the trade balances. We also offer the “nominal” figure, which is the number you will see in the U.S. Census Bureau data for figures earlier than 2020. Some economists view the nominal data as more accurately reflecting the overvalued U.S. dollar.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""> </span></div><div class="">
Arthur Stamoulis<br class="">Citizens Trade Campaign<br class="">(202) 494-8826<br class=""><br class=""><br class=""><br class="">
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