Although Trump continues to impose all manner of tariffs on foreign goods in a supposed effort to reduce our trade deficit, our deficit remains relatively unchanged while exports of American goods are still falling faster than imports of foreign goods.
Exports dropped to their lowest level since December of 2018 during the month of June according to the Commerce Department.
From MarketWatch:
Exports declined 2.1% to $206.3 billion, marking the lowest level since December. The U.S. exported fewer autos, drugs and computer accessories.
Imports dropped 1.7% to $261.5 billion. The U.S. imported less oil, drugs and cell phones.
The trade deficit with China was little changed at $30.2 billion. The gap with Mexico soared.
No matter what Trump does, it won't alter the fundamental fact that we need the rest of the world's shit more than they need our shit. There's very few things, aside from popular automobiles, that you can only buy from the United States.
The only thing that could make a significant dent in our trade deficit is a recession that reduces the purchasing power of American consumers. The Great Recession reduced our trade deficit by $315 billion (45.3 percent) in 2009, but the deficit obviously recovered and expanded because the economy recovered and expanded.
Trump may ultimately see our trade deficit reduced if he engineers a recession.