【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 17-20
Questions 17～20 are based on the following news report:
The United States Department of Commerce released a rare piece of gloomy economic news when it announced that the federal trade deficit had risen to a nine-year high during1997. According to the commerce department report, the United States trade deficit climbed to $113.7 billion, the highest level since the United States posted a trade deficit of $115.9 billion in 1988. On the positive side, United States exports of goods to foreign countries posted a record high $ 932.3 billion, marking a rise in exports of nearly 10 percent. Imported goods, however, also increased to a record level of $1.05 trillion.
The trade deficit was fueled in large part by widening trade gaps between the United States and two of its primary trading partners, China and Japan. Imports from Japan to the United States increased by 17 percent during 1997 while exports to Japan declined. The United States trade deficit with China skyrocketed during 1997 by 24 percent to $ 49.7 billion, leading to speculation that the United States trade deficit with China would surpass the deficit in trade between the United States and Japan in 1998.
Economists speculated that the growing trade gap between the United States and its trading partners would continue to widen during 1998, due in large part to the continued repercussions of the economic crisis that swept through East Asia during the last months of1997. Failing currency values in such countries as South Korea, Indonesia, and Thailand,were expected to lead to an increase in imports from these countries, as the devalued currencies combined with the strength of the United States dollar—made goods from these countries less expensive on the international market, thereby leading to a probable decreasein United States exports—and an overall increase in the trade deficit.
Question 17: What is the main point of this news?