US trade deficit passes $100B for first time since March 2025

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US trade deficit passes $100B for first time since March 2025
The U.S. trade deficit rose to a 17-month high in August, topping $100 billion for the first time since March 2025.
U.S. imports of goods and services that month were worth $105.6 billion more than the value of exports, according to data the Census Bureau and Bureau of Economic Analysis released Tuesday.
That marked an increase in the trade deficit of $12.7 billion from July, and the first time the monthly trade deficit was higher than $100 billion since March 2025. That month, the country’s trade deficit was more than $130 billion, just before President Trump unveiled his “Liberation Day” tariffs on imports.
U.S. imports and exports rose in August, although the former’s increase outpaced the latter’s by 2.9 percentage points, per the data.
Exports of crude oil increased by $2 billion, as Trump has recently vouched for a ban on diesel exports amid higher fuel prices due to the Iran war. Exports of semiconductors, computers and computer accessories also rose by $1 billion, $900 million and $900 million, respectively.
The U.S. also imported $3.3 billion more of crude oil in August than the month prior, while imports of nonmonetary gold and semiconductors also increased month-to-month by $3.1 billion and $2.4 billion, respectively.
The Supreme Court struck down Trump’s “Liberation Day” levies in February, ruling he could not cite the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to tax imports. The president has argued the U.S. trade deficit constitutes a national emergency.
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told The Hill that capital goods imports, which rose by $1.3 billion in August, are at a “record high” amid the artificial intelligence buildout.
That is evidence of Trump’s policies leading to a “manufacturing renaissance,” Rogers added. Manufacturing jobs have declined slightly since the president returned to office, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Trump administration in July slapped new tariffs ranging from 10 percent to 12.5 percent on dozens of trading partners, including the European Union, U.K., China and Canada.
U.S. Trade Representative Jameison Greer cited the countries’ inability to crack down on forced labor in imposing the levies.
Since then, Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney have engaged in a full-fledged trade war, with the two sides matching tariffs on $27.6 billion worth of goods each country imports from the other.
The U.S. trade deficit with Canada increased from $3 billion in July to $7.1 billion in August, the Census Bureau and Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Tuesday.
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