WASHINGTON — The Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) today highlighted how the January 2021 goods and services deficit reveals a serious, ongoing vulnerability in US industrial capacity. The data shows the US trade deficit rose in January to $68.2 billion. Alarmingly, imports increased by $3.4 billion to a total of $221.1 billion for January — the highest monthly total in five years and an all-time monthly high for pharmaceuticals.
“The January trade data confirms that our trade policies must be retooled to support domestic manufacturing and reshoring of critical supply chains,” said CPA Chair Zach Mottl. “The COVID-19 pandemic revealed serious vulnerabilities in our domestic supply chains, including an overreliance on countries like China and Germany for critical products like pharmaceuticals. As we continue efforts to rebuild and make our nation more resilient post-pandemic, we have to address these vulnerabilities in order to strengthen our domestic industrial capacity.”
“The January trade data and record level of imports should be a wake-up call for policymakers in Congress and the Biden administration,” Michael Stumo, CEO of the CPA, said. “CPA has been at the forefront of efforts to implement a pro-American 21st century industrial policy to bring back domestic manufacturing capacity and good-paying jobs. As Congress pursues policies to rebuild post-pandemic and the Biden administration implements the Build Back Better agenda, those efforts must prioritize reshoring critical supply chains and strengthening the U.S. manufacturing industry.”
CPA Industry Analyst, Kenneth Rapoza, recently wrote about the U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services data for January 2021. Read it here.
Media Contact:
Nick Iacovella, Communications Director
[email protected]
(202) 688-5145 ext. 0
###
