International Trade & Investment

The U.S. current account deficit, which reflects the combined balances on trade in goods and services and income flows between U.S. residents and residents of other countries, widened by $7.6 billion, or 4.2 percent, to $188.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020. The widening mostly reflected an expanded deficit on goods and a reduced surplus on services that were partly offset by a reduced deficit on secondary income. The fourth quarter deficit was 3.5 percent of current dollar gross domestic product, up from 3.4 percent in the third quarter.

The U.S. international trade deficit increased in 2020 according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Census Bureau. The deficit increased from $576.9 billion in 2019 to $681.7 billion in 2020, as exports decreased more than imports. As a percentage of U.S. gross domestic product, the goods and services deficit was 3.3 percent in 2020, up from 2.7 percent in 2019. The goods deficit increased from $864.3 billion in 2019 to $915.6 billion in 2020, and the services surplus decreased from $287.5 billion in 2019 to $233.9 billion in 2020.

The U.S. monthly international trade deficit increased in January 2021 according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Census Bureau. The deficit increased from $67.0 billion in December (revised) to $68.2 billion in January, as imports increased more than exports. The previously published December deficit was $66.6 billion. The goods deficit increased $1.3 billion in January to $85.4 billion. The services surplus increased $0.1 billion in January to $17.2 billion.

The U.S. international trade deficit increased in 2020 according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Census Bureau. The deficit increased from $576.9 billion in 2019 to $678.7 billion in 2020, as exports decreased more than imports. As a percentage of U.S. gross domestic product, the goods and services deficit was 3.2 percent in 2020, up from 2.7 percent in 2019. The goods deficit increased from $864.3 billion in 2019 to $915.8 billion in 2020, and the services surplus decreased from $287.5 billion in 2019 to $237.1 billion in 2020.

The U.S. monthly international trade deficit decreased in December 2020 according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Census Bureau. The deficit decreased from $69.0 billion in November (revised) to $66.6 billion in December, as exports increased more than imports. The previously published November deficit was $68.1 billion. The goods deficit decreased $2.8 billion in December to $84.2 billion. The services surplus decreased $0.4 billion in December to $17.5 billion.

The U.S. monthly international trade deficit increased in November 2020 according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Census Bureau. The deficit increased from $63.1 billion in October (revised) to $68.1 billion in November, as imports increased more than exports. The previously published October deficit was $63.1 billion. The goods deficit increased $5.0 billion in November to $86.4 billion. The services surplus decreased less than $0.1 billion in November to $18.2 billion.

The U.S. current account deficit, which reflects the combined balances on trade in goods and services and income flows between U.S. residents and residents of other countries, widened by $17.2 billion, or 10.6 percent, to $178.5 billion in the third quarter of 2020. The widening reflected an expanded deficit on goods that was partly offset by an expanded surplus on primary income. The third quarter deficit was 3.4 percent of current dollar gross domestic product, up from 3.3 percent in the second quarter.

The U.S. monthly international trade deficit increased in October 2020 according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Census Bureau. The deficit increased from $62.1 billion in September (revised) to $63.1 billion in October, as imports increased more than exports. The previously published September deficit was $63.9 billion. The goods deficit increased $0.6 billion in October to $81.4 billion. The services surplus decreased $0.4 billion in October to $18.3 billion.

Majority-owned U.S. affiliates (MOUSAs) of foreign multinational enterprises (MNEs) employed 7.8 million workers in the United States in 2018, a 1.9 percent increase from 7.7 million in 2017, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The U.S. monthly international trade deficit decreased in September 2020 according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Census Bureau. The deficit decreased from $67.0 billion in August (revised) to $63.9 billion in September, as exports increased more than imports. The previously published August deficit was $67.1 billion. The goods deficit decreased $3.1 billion in September to $80.7 billion. The services surplus increased less than $0.1 billion in September to $16.8 billion.