America's trade deficit widened in July, ballooning to more than $78 billion and up 32.5% from the month before, according to new federal data out Thursday.
America's imports and exports imbalance comes as President Donald Trump's tariffs continue to ripple through the global economy, despite the president imposing the tariffs in part to bring down the trade deficit.
The latest figures show U.S. imports were up nearly 6% in July, as American consumers and businesses rushed to stock up on goods ahead of the new set of August tariffs.
"I think people just want prices to not be high. And I'm trying to do that as best as I can, but I've been forced to raise my prices about 20% because of these tariffs," said small business owner David Levi.
For owners like Levi, the tariffs have already impacted operations.
Levi is a plaintiff in a case challenging the legality of President Trump's tariffs and says tariffs have made it harder for him to sell his product abroad.
"Because I do my final production here in America, I have to import the parts, get tariffed on those parts, and then send those parts assembled out. So that actually makes me a lot less competitive with other companies that just do all their production in china and then can ship directly from China to Japan," Levi said.
RELATED STORY | Federal appeals court rules many of Trump's tariffs are unconstitutional, setting up Supreme Court appeal
Tariffs may also be hurting U.S. products abroad by diminishing the "Made-in-the-USA" brand, according to marketing expert professor Dana Olsen.
"Tariffs have impacted American brands globally in a big way," Olsen said.
The global average favorability rating of the U.S. has been in negative territory since April. according to a Morning Consult survey.
