The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services fell to $54.5 billion in January, declining 25 percent from the previous month as President Trump’s tariffs continued to cause huge fluctuations in trade, according to data from the Commerce Department released on Thursday.
Exports rose 5.5 percent in the month, to $302.1 billion, as the United States shipped gold, computers and other precious metals abroad. Imports fell 0.7 percent in January, to $356.6 billion. The combination reduced the monthly trade deficit, the gap between what the United States imports and what it exports.
The data provided a snapshot of trade under a tariff system that is now largely obsolete. On Feb. 20, the Supreme Court ruled that Mr. Trump exceeded his authority when he used an emergency law last year to impose steep tariffs on nearly every foreign nation.
The Trump administration was forced to withdraw the double-digit tariffs under that law, raising big questions about what would come next. The president had used the emergency law to impose tariffs on nearly a third of all U.S. imports, affecting more than $300 billion in goods.
The administration is now working on resurrecting its old tariffs, relying on a patchwork of other trade laws. Immediately following the Supreme Court decision, Mr. Trump announced a 10 percent global tariff, but that can only stay in place for 150 days without congressional approval.
On Wednesday, the Trump administration unveiled its plan for the tariffs it would turn to after the 10 percent levy expires. It announced a new investigation into 16 major trading partners for what it called “excess capacity” in their factory sectors, which it said had resulted in overproduction and large and persistent U.S. trade deficits with those nations. The Office of the United States Trade Representative said it would begin examining a range of policies that stoke those countries’ manufacturing sector to produce more than their own people consume.
U.S.T.R. also said it would announce another trade investigation as soon as Thursday into 60 countries for their laws against forced labor, and that other investigations related to digital services and other issues could be on the way.
Ana Swanson covers trade and international economics for The Times and is based in Washington. She has been a journalist for more than a decade.
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