United States Balance of Trade

Last Release

Dec 31, 2024

Actual

-98.43

Units In

USD Million

-78.19

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

Mar 06, 2025

Time to Release

26 Days 23 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
1,946 Jun 1975	-109,802 Mar 2022	-16,736.72 USD Million	1950-2024	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 deficit widened to $98.4 billion in December 2024, following a revised $78.9 billion gap in November and above forecasts of a $96.6 billion shortfall. It is the highest trade deficit since a record n March 2022, as US companies rushed to secure goods ahead of Trump administration tariffs. It reflects an increase in the goods deficit to $123 billion and a decrease in the services surplus to $24.5 billion. Total imports soared 3.5% to $364.9 billion, led by finished metal shapes, computers, and nonmonetary gold while exports declined 2.6% to $266.5 billion mainly due to pharmaceutical preparations, crude oil and computers. For whole 2024, the deficit increased 17% from 2023 to $918.4 billion. Exports increased 3.9% to $3,191.6 billion and imports went up 6.6% to $4,110 billion. The largest trade gaps were recorded with China ($-295.4 billion), the EU ($-235.6 billion), Mexico ($-171.8 billion) and Vietnam ($-123.5 billion). The trade gap with Canada was $63.34 billion.