Why was the united states in a trade deficit?

In 2017, the total U.S. trade deficit was $566 billion. It imported $2.895 trillion of goods and services while exporting $2.329 trillion. The deficit is higher than in 2013 when it was $478 billion. One reason is that the dollar strengthened 28 percent between 2014 and 2016. A strong dollar makes imports cheaper and exports more expensive.

But the deficit is less than the record $762 billion in 2006. The decrease since then means U.S. exports grew faster than imports. That's good for U.S. businesses and job growth.

President Trump wants to reduce these deficits with protectionist measures. In March 2018, he announced he would impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum. On July 6, Trump's tariffs went into effect. China, the European Union, Mexico, and Canada have announced retaliatory tariffs.

Trump's tariffs will raise the costs of imported steel, increase the price of U.S. automobiles, and create layoffs. The tariffs have depressed the stock market since they were announced. Analysts worry that Trump has started a trade war that will hurt international trade.

- "the civil rights movements"

- "following the american civil war and abolition of slavery, the united states entered a period known as reconstruction, during which black americans continued to suffer from disenfranchisement, racial segregation, and economic oppression. beginning in the early 1950's, black americans launched a series of major campaigns of civil resistance, emphasizing the need for nonviolent protests and civil disobedience."

"such as the montgomery bus boycott of 1955-56, a campaign launched by rosa parks against the policy of racial segregation of the public transit system in alabama. “sit-ins” became popular across the american south, particularly in greensboro, north carolina, increase national sentiment."

- "the counterculture movement"

- "counterculture began to develop in the united states following the rise of conformity in american culture during the 1950s. by 1963, youth, particularly those of the white middle class, began rejecting the cultural standards and normality of their parents, opting for progressive attitudes instead. the movement gained momentum as the civil rights movement became increasingly successful and as the u.s. military intervention of vietnam began to take a negative turn."

"hippie counterculture moved further into popular culture following the summer of love in 1967 when thousands of people came together in the haight-ashbury neighborhood of san francisco. along with greenwich village in new york city, haight-ashbury became a hub for the counterculture movement."

the first 10 amendments to the u.s. constitution are known as the bill of rights. those 10 amendments establish the most basic freedoms for americans including the rights to worship how they want, speak how they want, and assembly and peaceably protest their government how they want. the amendments have also been subject to much interpretation since their adoption, particularly the right to carry a gun under the second amendment.

"a bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference," said thomas jefferson, the author of the declaration of independence and the third president of the united states.