FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 05, 2016
Contact: Paola Masman, Media Director
202-688-5145 ext. 2,paola@prosperousamerica.org

Government Announces Larger December Trade Deficit Despite Trade Deals

Washington ~ The federal government announced today that the US trade deficit worsened yet against last December. Modern trade deals continue to cause failures in US trade performance and loss of dynamic, diverse manufacturing and agricultural supply chains.  Here are the relevant points from the report.

1.  Trade deficit worsened: “The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, through the Department of Commerce, announced today that the goods and services deficit was $43.4 billion in December, up $1.1 billion from $42.2 billion in November, revised. ”

2.  Exports down: “December exports were $181.5 billion, $0.5 billion less than November exports.”

3.  Imports up: “December imports were $224.9 billion, up $0.6 billion from November.”

Trade deficits shrink the economy while trade surpluses grow the economy.

“The US International Trade Commission is drafting a report projecting the likely jobs, growth and trade balance impact of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), if implemented,” said Michael Stumo, CEO of the Coalition for a Prosperous America. “The Commission needs to determine why its past trade agreement reports projected far better trade performance than we actually experiences, and correct those drastic errors, before releasing any report on the TPP.”

The Coalition for a Prosperous America is a nonprofit organization representing the interests of 2.7 million households through our agricultural, manufacturing and labor members.