Explaining the Widening U.S. Trade Deficit

The U.S. trade deficit is continuing to decline – but don't blame imports for the widening gap. In fact, in trade figures published by the U.S. Census Bureau for the month of June 2016, imports were actually down by 2.9 percent from a year earlier. The problem is that exports dropped by an even greater margin of 5.2 percent. Blame a strong dollar and weak commodity sales, among other factors. On this episode, we delve into the trends behind the numbers with Chris Rogers, research analyst with Panjiva. He identifies the weakest areas of U.S. trade, based on such factors as currency exchange, interest rates, competition from Chinese manufacturers and the impact of the U.K.'s decision to withdraw from the European Union. And he discusses the prospects for future improvements in the nation’s balance of trade.