NEW YORK – America’s trade deficit just widened to US$88.6 billion, its largest since March 2025 — and the political reflex in Washington is almost certain to be more, not fewer, tariffs and trade restrictions.
The irony is that the number doesn’t mean what US President Donald Trump will likely claim. July’s spike reflects a surge in AI‑related tech and semiconductor imports, not a collapse in American competitiveness.
A booming domestic appetite for chips and computing hardware is pulling in more foreign goods than exports can offset. That’s not a losing trade war — it’s an economy investing aggressively in the next technology cycle.
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