Among the conclusions offered in the release of yesterday's annual report to Congress by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) is that the U.S. trade deficit with China is on the rise:

For the first eight months of 2010, China’s goods exports to the United States were $229.2 billion, while U.S. goods exports to China were $55.8 billion, with the U.S. trade deficit in goods at $173.4 billion, an increase of 20.6 percent over the same period in 2009 ($143.8 billion). This constitutes a four-to-one ratio of Chinese exports to its imports from the United States.

The Commission considers this massive bilateral deficit to be a "major drag on the U.S."  They observe:

Despite the global financial crisis, China gained an even greater share of the U.S. trade deficit, while the overall U.S. trade deficit declined. The deficit in goods with China is by far the largest among U.S. trading partners: 45 percent of the total in 2009 and 41.5 percent of the total for the first eight months of 2010.

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