U.S. trade deficit falls in March

A delegation in Beijing last week worked on “improving China’s protection of intellectual property and identifying policies that unfairly enforce technology transfers.”    The U.S. trade deficit tumbled from $57.7 billion in February to $49 billion in March, fueled by an increase in exports amid a drop in imports, data from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis revealed.
   U.S. exports reached $208.5 billion in March, ticking up 2 percent from February, while the nation’s imports totaled $257.5 billion, down 1.8 percent.
   The trade deficit decline in March ended six straight monthly increases as the United States fared better than expected, with economists polled by Reuters projecting the nation’s trade deficit would total $50 billion in March.
   The trade deficit with China during the month fell 11.6 percent from February to $25.9 billion.
    A U.S. delegation held discussions with Chinese officials in Beijing last week about “rebalancing the United States-China bilateral economic relationship, improving China’s protection of intellectual property and identifying policies that unfairly enforce technology transfers,” according to the White House.
   The Trump administration has asked China to reduce its trade deficit with the United States by $200 billion by the end of 2020, multiple media reports said.