Under Obama, Trade Deficits Way Down

Submitted by Andres Chong-Qui on 2/21/14

In 2013, our trade deficit was $472b, down from $535b in 2012.   The total trade deficit represents 2.8% of US GDP, a number far lower that what saw a decade ago.  These new number speaks to an important trend – that under President Obama the trade deficit has come way down (see the chart below).  

For comparison, the average trade deficit under President Bush was $592b, or 4.5% of GDP.  Under Obama the trade deficit has averaged $489b, or 3.1% of GDP.  And it is dropping.

Source: You can find this data at the US Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis.