WASHINGTON (TIP): The US trade deficit increased to the highest point in 10 months, driven up by a big rise in imports of oil and Chinese-made computers, cell phones and clothing.

The deficit rose to $44.5 billion in June, 8.7 percent higher than a revised May deficit of $41 billion, the commerce department reported on Friday. It was the biggest gap between what America sells abroad and what the country imports since a $44.6 billion deficit last August.

Exports, which have struggled this year because of the strong dollar and global weakness, edged up 0.3 percent to $183.2 billion. Imports rose a faster 1.9 percent to $227.7 billion, led by a 19.4 percent jump in petroleum imports.

The politically sensitive deficit with China increased to $29.8 billion, the highest in seven months.

A wider US trade deficit acts as a drag on growth because it means the nation is earning less on overseas sales of US exports while spending more on imported products.

America’s deficit with China was up 2.5 percent to the highest level since a deficit of $31.3 billion last November. Through the first six months of this year, the deficit with China, the largest with any country, is running 6.5 percent above the same period in 2015, putting it on track to set another annual record. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, seeking to tap into the economic anxiety of Americans who have seen jobs disappear in an increasingly global economy, has accused the Obama administration of failing to protect U.S. workers from unfair trade practices in China and other countries.

Trump has said he would exit from the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico if it were not renegotiated, kill the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement and take a more aggressive approach with China, including charging the country as a currency manipulator.

The US Chamber of Commerce, normally an ally of Republicans on trade, contends that Trump’s approach would cost 3.5 million US jobs and result in higher prices for American consumers and a weaker economy.

Through the first six months of this year, the deficit is 2.3 percent below the same period in 2015, a year in which America’s deficit in goods and services trade rose 2.1 percent to $500.4 billion. The lower deficit so far this year reflects the fact that while U.S. exports are down, the value of imports is down by a larger amount, reflecting in large part lower oil prices.