The U.S. trade deficit got smaller in April but a wider lens shows a less rosy picture
The U.S. trade deficit got smaller in April but a wider lens shows a less rosy picture
We got new numbers from the Commerce Department today about one of the president’s favorite topics — the trade deficit. Month to month, the trade deficit got smaller, that is, the difference between what we sold to the world versus what we bought, shrunk a bit. That gap was just over $46 billion in April, down from just over $47 billion in March. But year over year, the trade deficit is actually bigger. It’s up 11.5 percent from this time last year. When you step back and dig into the numbers, you start to see how some of the recent trade conflicts are causing shifts in the global economy.
Click the audio player above to hear the full story.
Stories You Might Like
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
