The U.S. trade deficit in goods rose in December on the back of an import surge to hit a monthly record high, while bringing the total shortfall for all of 2021 to more than $1 trillion, also a historic first. The trade deficit in goods—or the difference between imports and exports of products—rose by a monthly 3 percent in December to an all-time high of $101 billion, the Commerce Department said in a Jan. 26 statement (pdf). The previous record was set in November, when the trade gap climbed to $98 billion. The first 11 months of 2021 saw the goods deficit climb to $984.8 billion, with December’s reading pushing that figure above a psychological $1 trillion barrier. “The 1st ever monthly goods trade deficit to exceed $100 billion resulted in a $1.08 trillion deficit for 2021, the 1st year to top $1 trillion,” economist Peter Schiff wrote in a …