US Trade Deficit Expands in July Amidst Tariff-Induced Consumer Spending Boom

America's trade deficit expanded in July, surging to over $78 billion and increasing by 32.5% from the previous month, according to new federal data.

The widening trade imbalance comes as President Donald Trump's tariffs continue to affect the global economy, despite his efforts to reduce the trade deficit.

U.S. imports rose nearly 6% in July, with American consumers and businesses stockpiling goods ahead 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."

Small business owner David Levi spoke about the impact of tariffs on his operations.

Levi is a plaintiff in a case challenging the legality of President Trump's tariffs and says they 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."

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."