WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump has reportedly ordered a change to the U.S. trade deficit calculations to bolster his argument against trade deals, but analysts say this could undermine a key economic indicator. These moves have stoked fears about the credibility of economic data under Trump. Over their objections, officials at the office of the U.S. Trade Representative's office last week produced new trade balance data using a methodology that exaggerates deficits with key U.S. trading partners such as Mexico, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. The picture of yawning trade gaps could help Trump's stance that the U.S. is getting the short end of the stick in free trade deals. By excluding those goods from the tally of U.S. exports, but keeping them in the calculation of imports, trade deficits would appear to be much larger than the official data indicate.

Source: The China Post February 23, 2017 16:07 UTC