Even with toys tainted with lead paint and magnets that could literally choke a child internally, our trade deficit with China climbed to the second highest ever recorded.

The U.S. trade deficit declined slightly in July, helped by record exports that offset the biggest foreign oil bill in nearly a year. But even a spate of recalls did not stop the deficit with China from climbing to the second-highest level on record.

The trade deficit edged down 0.3 percent in July to $59.2 billion, compared with $59.4 billion the month before, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. It was the lowest monthly imbalance since April.

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America’s deficit with China jumped 12.5 percent in July to $23.8 billion, the second-highest level on record, surpassed only by a $24.4 billion imbalance in October. So far this year, the deficit with China is running at an annual rate of $242 billion, putting the country on track to surpass last year’s record deficit with China of $233 billion, the highest ever recorded with a single country.

How disgusting.

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