(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—1991,1992,1993—were before the North American Free Trade Agreement took effect. The fourth year the United States ran a merchandise trade deficit with Mexico—1994—was the first year NAFTA took effect.
September 1994 was the last month that the United States ran a monthly merchandise trade surplus with Mexico. Two months before that, in July 1994, the U.S. ran a $592,700,000 merchandise trade surplus with Mexico. One month before that, in August 1994, the U.S. ran a $99,700,000 merchandise trade surplus with Mexico.
But the next month–October 1994–the United States ran a $81,600,000 merchandise trade deficit with Mexico.
Since then, the United States has not run a merchandise trade surplus with Mexico in any single month. Keep reading
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