The Biden’s administration has recorded a commendable win as new reports details the record-breaking rise in goods importation in January that pushed the trade deficit 1.9 percent higher despite Covid-19.

The gap between imported goods and exported goods rose to $68.2bn from $67bn in December, the US Department of Commerce reported Friday. Exports rose 1 percent to $191.9bn, while imports increased 1.2 percent to $260.2bn.

As the new administration tries to tiptoe around the trade war with China of Trump’s administration, Biden’s top trade negotiator, Katherine Tai, promised to make sure that US trade policy benefits US workers, not just corporations, and to engage more with US allies to counter an increasingly assertive China.

Meanwhile, The politically sensitive trade gap with China fell 3.2 percent to $27.2bn and the trade deficit with Mexico rose $1.6bn to $11.9bn in January.

While US exports of goods rose $2.1bn to $135.7bn in January, while exports of services, like transport and travel, declined $0.3bn to $56.3bn.