Schumer: New Record Trade Deficit Indicates A Slow Bleeding At The Wrists For U.S. Economy, Shows Increasing Dependence On Countries Like China, Japan

Today, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer released the following statement regarding the new record trade deficit numbers reported by the U.S. Census. The U.S. trade deficit for 2005 was $726 billion, a 17.5% increase from the record set in 2004. The trade deficit is now about 6% of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP).

Schumer said, These exploding trade deficit numbers are not a sign of strength; they are a sign of weakness. They indicate a slow bleeding at the wrists economically for the United States.

The trade and budget deficit numbers show that Americas standard of living is increasingly being borrowed from abroad, from countries like China and Japan.

The numbers indicate deepseated, fundamental problems within the U.S. economy that the Bush Administration has not shown the competence or willingness to fix, Schumer concluded.

The politically sensitive trade gap with China totaled a record $201.6 billion, up 24.5 percent from 2004. While U.S. exports to China were a record $41.8 billion, they were swamped by record imports of $243.5 billion.

The 2005 tally includes record bilateral deficits with China, the European Union, Japan, Canada, Mexico, South and Central America and members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which includes Saudi Arabia.