The U.S. economy is not doing any better it seems... with recent numbers showing that the U.S. economy took a hit from Trump's policy on trade and its tariff war with China.<br />Kim Ji-yeon has more. <br />The U.S. trade deficit with the rest of the world jumped to a 10-year high last year... according to the U.S. Commerce Department on Wednesday.<br />It said the country's deficit soared to 621 billion dollars in 2018... despite President Trump's "America First" policies aimed at shrinking the trade gap and increasing American exports. <br />The deficit in goods and services during December also hit a near 10-year high of nearly 60 billion dollars.<br />The rise was in part due to the global economic slowdown and a relatively strong greenback.<br />Both have weakened foreign demand for American goods and services.<br />Another report by the U.S. Federal Reserve called the beige book... showed the U.S. economy expanded in January and February... but added that half the country was seeing a fallout from the 35-day partial government shutdown.<br />It said some manufacturers expressed worries about weakening global demand for their products, adverse effects from trade protectionism... and growing uncertainties regarding the government's policies. <br />The report said 10 of its 12 regions reported "slight-to-moderate growth" over the past two months... and in the St. Louis and Philadelphia regions... the situation was "flat"... which is worse than its previous evaluation of "modest-to-moderate."<br />The beige book is normally used as a basis for the Fed in determining changes to its interest rates... and with this, the expectation is that the central bank will remain "patient", leaving rates unchanged.<br />Luckily, China and the U.S. are reportedly closing in on a deal to officially end the trade war between the two countries... with the South China Morning Post reporting that a trade deal could be signed by the countries' leaders during a planned meeting in Florida later this month.<br />Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News. <br />
