Growing Trade Gap Partly Due to Supply Shortages

Pandemic-era supply shortages are aggravating the U.S. trade deficit. According to the latest report on international trade from the Census Bureau, the gap between goods the U.S. exports and the goods and services it imports from abroad rose more than 5% in June, driven by a substantial increase in imports of industrial supplies and materials. In June 2021, the Bureau says, the U.S. imported $283.4 billion worth of goods and services, compared to only $207.7 billion in goods and services exported. That nets a trade deficit of $75.7 billion—6.7% larger than it was in May, and 46.6% bigger than it was in June 2020. The three-month moving average deficit rose slightly, by $200 million to $71.9 billion.