“Why Trump lost his battle against the trade deficit.”

Mary Lovely, professor of economics in the Maxwell School, was quoted in the Politico story “Why Trump lost his battle against the trade deficit.” One of President Donald Trump’s signature goals during his 2016 election campaign and presidency was to reduce the U.S. trade deficit, yet the deficit was set at a record high in August at $83 billion. Lovely, an expert on U.S. trade with China, says that many of President Trumps attempts to reduce the deficit have not worked because the it is “driven by larger economic factors.” “Short-term fixes like tariffs don’t work, it’s magical thinking,” says Lovely.