U.S. under Trump Series: United States’ 2017 goods trade deficit with South Korea likely to be lowest in four years

As the Trump administration continues to toughen stance against the U.S. trade deficit and take up measures to counter that, we are closely monitoring the U.S. trade imbalances (especially in goods) with several countries like China and South Korea, since several measures like countervailing duties (CVD), anti-dumping duties (AD). Recently, a feud broke out between South Korea and the United States as the Trump administration imposed steep tariffs on imports of washing machines and solar panels, both of which are major exports of the United States.

While the effect of the steps taken up by the administration will start impacting the trade balance gradually over the period of 2018 and 2019, it is nevertheless important to note that the United States’ trade deficit with South Korea likely to reach the lowest level in four years in 2017.

The chart displays the trade deficit since 1999. The 2017 number includes data up to November, even then, it is likely to be the lowest since 2013 when December gets included.