America's trade gap spiked in October thanks to a significant uptick in the country's deficit with China, according to a report published Tuesday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis .

The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services ballooned to $42.6 billion in October, up nearly 18 percent from September's $36.2 billion shortfall. Exports dropped $3.4 billion over the month to $186.4 billion, while imports climbed $3 billion to $229 billion.

The deficit in October was the widest it had been since June, and that's bad news for America's broader economic growth. A strong uptick in exports and modest import performance helped push gross domestic product expansion in the third quarter to 3.2 percent – the best pace the U.S. has seen in two years.

But Tuesday's report suggests the fourth quarter of the year may not be nearly as positive on the trade front.

"The recent strength of the dollar will likely help cement this trend in Q4. We do not expect trade to maintain its recent positive contributions to growth in the quarters ahead," Sam Bullard, managing director and senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities, wrote in a research note earlier this week, predicting an uptick in the U.S. trade deficit.

Indeed, the dollar's persistent strength isn't particularly helpful to American exporters, as their products become more expensive on the international stage once exchange rates are factored in.

To that point, deficits were recorded in October between the U.S. and some of its most significant trading partners, including China, the European Union, Mexico, Japan, India, South Korea and Taiwan.

The deficit with China, in particular, expanded by more than 7 percent in October to $28.9 billion. Exports to the Asian economic titan actually increased by $500 million, but imports gained by a more impressive $2.4 billion. The U.S. in the third quarter imported nearly three times as many goods and services from China as it exported there.

"The widening in the trade deficit in October is, to some extent, a reflection of the strength of U.S. demand. U.S. imports of goods increased 1.5 percent to take the total to $186.5 billion, the largest since October 2015," a team of researchers at Wells Fargo Securities wrote in a note to clients Tuesday, stating that they are "forecasting steady growth in consumer spending" that would "be supportive of a steady increase in imports."

But it's hard to say exactly what the U.S. trade scene will look like over the long term, particularly with President-elect Donald Trump moving into the White House in January. Trump has called for steep tariffs to be placed on Chinese imports, which inherently would make products shipped from one of America's largest trading partners significantly more expensive for domestic consumers. Mexican imports, likewise, could see steep tariffs under Trump.

The president-elect's promises to restructure or break up the North American Free Trade Agreement also pose potential problems for Canada and Mexico, the two largest buyers of American-made goods and services.

Isolationist trade policies could cut down on the U.S. import load, which ultimately serves as a drag on economic growth. But if other countries retaliate against the U.S. and slow their purchases in kind, American exporters and the economy at large could have a problem.