US Trade Deficit With China Reaches $225.2Bln in First Half of 2016

The US trade deficit with China decreased from the record-high level of $367.2 billion in 2015, dropping to $225.2 billion during the first eight months of 2016, according to a new report by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — "In the first eight months of 2016, the US goods deficit with China fell 5.7 percent year-on-year to $225.2 billion due to weaker imports," the 2016 report to Congress stated on Wednesday.

The Commission noted that the US deficit with China with regard to advanced technology has dropped to $120.7 billion or $3 billion less than the 2014 levels.

The report said the United States also has a surplus with China in services, which totaled $29.5 billion in 2015.

"China continues to stall on liberalizing key sectors in which the United States is competitive globally, such as services," the commission claimed.

US President-elect Donald Trump has previously stated that his administration would impose tariffs on imports from China to address the existing trade deficit.