Washington (EFE).- The United States deficit in its foreign trade in goods and services rose 12.2% in 2022 compared to the previous year (103,000 million dollars), amid the strength of the dollar and fears of a possible recession.
Thus, the trade deficit of the North American country stood at 948,100 million dollars in 2022 compared to 845,000 million in 2021, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported on Tuesday.
During December, the deficit rose 10.5% compared to November to stand at 67.4 billion dollars, coinciding with the Christmas shopping season. In the last month of the year, exports had a value of 250.2 billion dollars, 2.2 billion dollars less than in November.
In contrast, imports rose 4.2 billion dollars in December compared to the previous month and reached 317.6 billion dollars.
In 2022, both exports and imports grew compared to 2021, but the latter continued to outperform the former.
Last year, exports of goods and services rose to 453.1 billion dollars, 17.7%, compared to 2021, and reached 3,009.7 million dollars.
This increase was boosted by the growth in foreign sales of industrial products and supplies such as crude oil (up 47,500 million), gasoline (28,100 million dollars) and natural gas (22,900 million); capital and consumer goods, such as soybeans (up 7,000 million); food and beverages, and vehicle parts.
Imports also increased in 2022, 16.3% (556,100 million), to stand at 3,957.8 million dollars, with increases in purchases of industrial materials, capital goods, consumer items, auto parts, and food and drinks.
Some of the imports that increased last year were crude oil (65.1 billion dollars); electrical appliances (19.7 billion dollars); pharmaceutical preparations (18.8 billion dollars); mobile phones and other household items ($11 billion); and passenger cars ($19 billion).
In 2022, the trade deficit with China, which is very politically sensitive in the US, rose 29.4 billion dollars and reached a value of 382.9 billion dollars, the same as with the European Union, reaching 203 billion dollars or with Mexico , reaching 130.600 million dollars.
In contrast, the US registered a trade surplus with South and Central America (76.2 billion dollars), Hong Kong (21.1 billion dollars and the United Kingdom (13.3 billion dollars).
These statistics came in a year when the US economy showed strength despite inflation and rising interest rates to alleviate it.
In 2022, the US economy grew 2.1%, according to the first estimate of the country’s annual Gross Domestic Product released this month by the BEA.
This annual growth figure is above the estimates of organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which in its last report in October estimated that the country would grow 1.6% in 2022. By 2023, the organization indicates that the economy American will grow 1%, figures that will be updated next week.
Estimates of lower growth in 2023 occur in the midst of a complicated global economic situation as a result of the war in Ukraine and also when economists are closely observing the consequences that the interest rate hikes carried out in in recent months by the Federal Reserve (Fed) to control inflation.
