Why the best remedy for a trade deficit is a spending deficit

We don't need a trade war — or the deals the Trump administration probably can't achieve

Shipping containers.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images, krishh/iStock)

President Trump likes to tout big numbers, but here's one new figure he won't enjoy: $891 billion, the United States' record-breaking trade deficit in goods last year.

It's the biggest ever recorded, and even if you add in services, shrinking 2018's trade deficit to $621 billion, that's still the largest gap since 2008.

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Jeff Spross

Jeff Spross was the economics and business correspondent at TheWeek.com. He was previously a reporter at ThinkProgress.