The Commerce Department released the discouraging figures Thursday as Clinton prepared for the weekend Asian Pacific Cooperation forum in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he and 17 other Pacific leaders are to grapple with Asian currency crises jolting world financial markets.
China makes half of all toys sold in the United States.
Telephone equipment imports rose too while America's biggest export to China, commercial aircraft, fell. U.S. purchases of electrical machinery and photo equipment rose while sales of aircraft and cars to Japan slumped. The growth of our exports to China continues to lag far behind growth of our imports. This time of year we see a large influx of low-tech imports from China related to the Christmas season. Economists said September's big trade deficit may be just the first sign of fallout from currency crises roiling Asia since midsummer.