Prior to each of Trump's previous rounds of tariffs on Chinese goods, we saw a surge in imports to American firms rushing to purchase as much as they could before Trump's tariffs go into effect.
Our trade deficit with China fell by 1.1 percent in October according to the Commerce Department but, while that probably pleases Trump, imports from the European Union surged to an all-time record high as American firms rushed to beat Trump's tariffs.
The goods trade deficit with China fell 1.1% to $31.3 billion, with imports unchanged and exports increasing 3.4%.
The goods trade gap with the European Union jumped 20% to $16.4 billion, with imports surging to a record high.
While Washington and Beijing are working on a “phase one” trade deal, the United States has ratcheted up tensions with other trade partners including Brazil, Argentina and France.
Trump's tariffs on $7.5 billion in European goods went into effect on October 18th so this is clearly a result of a run on imports ahead of the tariffs.
It may be true that no one is better at selling foreign goods than Donald Trump. And I'm not talking about his campaign merchandise made in China.