Bills have been introduced in both the House and Senate that would impose across-the-board penalty tariffs on Chinese products unless China stops what critics contend is a blatant manipulation of its currency to gain trade advantages in violation of global trade rules.
For August, America's trade deficit with China rose 3.2 percent to a monthly record of US$11.7 billion. For the year, the deficit with China is running 22 percent higher than last year's record imbalance of US$103 billion. Since 2000, the US has recorded its biggest deficits with China, a spot that for decades was held by Japan. The imbalance with Japan actually shrank by 18.2 percent in August to US$4.84 billion.
The US$824 million decline in the overall deficit reflected a 2.7 percent drop in US exports, a sign of weakness in many of America's major export markets.
Imports, which had hit a monthly record in July, retreated 2.5 percent in August to US$122.9 billion.
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