You have got to be kidding me

If I did not know the source, I might have thought that this report was from The Onion:

The Trump administration is considering changing how U.S. trade deficits are calculated, a move that would make the deficit look larger on paper, the Wall Street Journal reported.  

People involved in the discussions told the Journal that the leading idea is to count “re-exports” — goods that are imported to the U.S., and then exported to a third country unchanged — as imports, but not exports.

The change would inflate the trade deficit number, an important figure in trade negotiations and policy.