U.S. Completes 22 Straight Years of Merchandise Trade Deficits With Mexico

(CNSNews.com) The United States ran a merchandise trade deficit of $5,243,300,000 with Mexico in September, according to newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

That completes 22 straight years in which the United States has run monthly merchandise trade deficits with Mexico.

The last time the United States ran a merchandise trade surplus with Mexico was September 1994—when the U.S. ran a $4,700,000 bilateral surplus with its southern neighbor.

The U.S. Census Bureau has published monthly figures on the export and import of goods to and from Mexico going back to January 1985. In the 31 complete calendar years that have passed since then (1985 through 2015), the United States has run merchandise trade surpluses with Mexico in four years and deficits in 27 years.

Three of those years that the U.S. ran a surplus—1991,1992,1993—were before the North American Free Trade Agreement took effect. The fourth year the United States ran a merchandise trade surplus with Mexico—1994—was the first year NAFTA took effect.

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