The U.S. trade deficit fell for the first time in six years in 2019 as President Donald Trump hammered China with import taxes.
The Commerce Department said Feb. 5 that the gap between what the United States sells and what it buys abroad fell 1.7% last year to $616.8 billion. U.S. exports fell 0.1% to $2.5 trillion. But imports fell more, slipping 0.4% to $3.1 trillion. Imports of crude oil plunged 19.3% to $126.6 billion.
