For years, a widening trade deficit often reflected greater reliance on cheap foreign consumer goods, but the latest figures illuminate what many headlines obscure.
The trailing 12-month goods deficit is 1.6% of GDP when excluding SI-related goods, its lowest reading in records dating back to 1994. When including SI-related goods, it stands at 3.5% of GDP, lower than any reading outside this current Administration since 2010.
Recent import growth has been concentrated in capital goods that support investment and expand our capacity to produce at home, a shift increasingly reflected in stronger output and productivity across the American economy.