According to a report at Bloomberg, U.S. imports and exports both tumbled for the month of April as Donald Trump's trade war with China -- which might soon include Mexico -- rages on.
With farmers and manufacturers cringing at the possibility that the president will make good on his promise to slam Mexico with escalating tariffs if they don't stop the flow of immigrants seeking asylum in the U.S., they are already reeling from the economic damage be done to their bottom lines.
The Bloomberg reports states, "Exports fell the most in three years, partially reflecting lower demand for civilian aircraft following the worldwide grounding of Boeing Co.’s 737 Max model, though the decline in shipments abroad was broad-based," before adding, "Goods shipments to China fell to $8.5 billion in April from $10.2 billion the prior month and are down 20% year-to-date, while imports from the nation have declined 13.2% in 2019."
According to a senior U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank AG, the disruption in trade due to the president's policies are creating havoc for U.S. manufacturers wondering what the president will do next.
``The shifting policies are really making it difficult for businesses to try to plan ahead and try to get their supply chains in order, and it's most evident in these big fluctuations that you're seeing in imports and exports on a monthly basis,'' explained economist Brett Ryan, before adding "everyone loses" when trade collapses.
"Overall U.S. imports posted the biggest drop since January on declines in inbound chemicals, semiconductors, autos and consumer goods. Merchandise demand was the lowest in more than a year," the report states, before noting that "U.S. and Mexican negotiators were set to resume talks Thursday with time running short to avert Trump’s threat to impose tariffs next week."
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