The U.S. trade deficit¹ last year has surged to the highest level since 2008, according to a report by U.S. Commerce Department Wednesday.

 

美国商务部周三公布的报告显示，2018年美国贸易逆差飙升至2008年以来最高点。

 

Fresh data shows that the U.S. December trade deficit stood at 59.8 billion U.S. dollars, contributing to its whole-year trade deficit of 621 billion U.S. dollars.

 

The country's trade gap with China, Mexico and the European Union also widened sharply, the report showed. The goods trade deficit with China increased 11.6 percent to an all-time high of 419.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2018.

 

The trade deficit has deteriorated² despite the White House's protectionist trade policy, which President Donald Trump³ said is needed to shield U.S. manufacturers from what he says is unfair foreign competition.

 

The release of the December report was delayed by a 35-day partial shutdown of the government that ended on January 25.

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