The public continues to hear or read that President Trump’s trade policies are hurting the U.S. economy and destroying our relationship with the world and hurting the U.S. consumer. They say the tariffs are especially harmful and causing price increases. I am having trouble finding factual data that support those talking points. Why do we see general statements in the media instead of the actual data?
Here are some of the data:
In 2016, the last year of President Obama, exports were $1.45 trillion, and imports were $2.19 trillion.
In 2017, the first year of President Trump, exports were $1.55 trillion (up around 7%), and imports were $2.4 trillion (up around 10%).
In 2018, exports were $1.67 trillion (up around 8%, or up 15% over 2016). Imports were $2.54 trillion (up around 6%, up 16% over 2016).
In 2019, the first six months show around an $8-billion decrease in exports, or down less than 1%, and imports are up around $3 billion, or up less than 0.25%.
On August 14, the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that from July 2018 to July 2019, import prices were down 1.8%, and export prices were down 0.9%
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