0 a situation in which the value of goods a country imports (= buys from other countries) is greater than the value of goods it exports (= sells to other countries), or the size of this difference --
1 the economic condition that exists when a greater value of goods comes into a country than the value of goods that are sold out of the country --
2 a situation in which the value of goods that a country imports is more than the value of goods it exports, or the size of this difference: --
It is calculated that 1 million tons of steel imports adds £90 million to the country's trade deficit.
The trade deficit has been large because of the worsening in the terms of trade.
These figures, allied to the present raw material shortage, look like registering the biggest visible trade deficit since the war.
We were told that last month there was a record trade deficit of more than £300 million.
The size of our trade deficit, which is the background to the order, is indeed calamitous.
A consumer-led alternative would risk making the trade deficit even worse.
He was wrong when he predicted that the trade deficit would fall substantially in 1988 and 1989 and it did not.
But the trade deficit is £12 billion against us.
