United States Balance of Trade

Last Release

Apr 30, 2025

Actual

-61.62

Units In

USD Million

-140.49

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

Jul 03, 2025

Time to Release

25 Days 6 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
1,946 Jun 1975	-109,802 Mar 2022	-16,663.17 USD Million	1950-2025	U.S. Census Bureau

The United States has been running consistent trade deficits since 1976 due to high imports of oil and consumer products. In 2018, the biggest trade deficits were recorded with China, Mexico, Germany, Japan, Ireland, Vietnam and Italy and the biggest trade surpluses with Hong Kong, Netherlands, Australia, United Arab Emirates, Belgium, Brazil and Panama. China is the top trading partner, accounting for 16 percent of total trade, followed by Canada (15 percent) and Mexico (15 percent).

Latest Updates

The US trade gap narrowed sharply to $61.6 billion in April 2025, the lowest since September 2023, compared to a $138.3 billion gap in March. Imports shrunk 16.3% to a six-month low of $351 billion, after jumping to an all-time high of $419.4 billion in March in anticipation of more tariff announcements. The biggest declines were seen in purchases for pharmaceutical preparations, finished metal shapes, passenger cars and cell phones and other household goods. Meanwhile, exports rose 3% to a record $289.4 billion, led by sales of finished metal shapes, nonmonetary gold and computers. The biggest trade deficit was recorded with China ($-19.7 billion), although it decreased sharply from a $24.2 billion gap in March. The shortfall with the EU also plunged to $17.9 billion from $48 billion while the deficit with Vietnam widened a bit ($14.5 billion vs $14 billion). The shortfalls with both Canada ($-2.6 billion vs $-4.9 billion) and Mexico ($-13.5 billion vs $-16.9 billion) also narrowed.