Economy Alarm: U.S. Trade Deficit Rises

April 13, 2010

U.S. Trade Deficit Rises

Yet Another Sign of the Failed Economic Policies of the Obama Administration

Democrats Once Promised to Restore Fiscal Discipline and Tame our Exploding Deficits
“As President, Barack Obama will stand up for fiscal responsibility by restoring fairness to our economy, investing in a renewable energy future, and adopting a trade policy that serves the interests not just of multinational corporations but of America’s hardworking families.” (Barack Obama, “Statement from Senator Obama on Trade Deficit Increase,” Organizing for America, My.BarackObama.com, 6/10/2008)

“The only thing certain is that Obama is on track to boost a federal debt that stands at $10.7 trillion. Clearly mindful of that, Obama said: ‘We will need to do everything in the short term to get our economy moving again’ as well as ‘begin restoring fiscal discipline and taming our exploding deficits over the long term.’” (“Obama: Stimulus lets Americans claim destiny,” Associated Press, 2/17/2009)

Credibility Crash: U.S. Trade Deficit Rises in an Economy That Taxes Too Much, Spends Too Much and Borrows Too Much

The U.S. trade deficit rose more than expected in February as soaring imports of consumer goods and industrial supplies outweighed the impact of oil imports falling to their lowest level in 11 years.

The U.S. deficit in international trade of goods and services rose 7.4% to $39.70 billion in February from a revised $36.95 billion the month before, the Commerce Department said in a report Tuesday.

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The January trade gap was originally reported to be $37.29 billion. The February deficit was higher than the $39 billion shortfall Wall Street was expecting.

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The deficit with Japan widened to $4.30 billion from $3.35 billion. The trade gap with the euro area rose to $4.28 billion from $2.94 billion, while the gap with Mexico also rose to $4.77 billion from $4.62 billion. (Meena Thiruvengadam and Tom Barkley, “U.S. Trade Deficit Widens,” Wall Street Journal, 4/13/2010)

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